Constant
by leiahlaloa
Summary: Part 3 in the AU With Opened Eyes series.  Bella and Edward are nestled comfortable in a small New England town.  Is there anything left for them to endure?  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read With Opened Eyes and Protection... you won't understand otherwise.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Welcome back to the insanity! I am fresh from reading Eclipse and thought it would be a nice way to celebrate if I posted up the prologue of our third story in the "With Opened Eyes" series. **

**WARNING: Reading With Opened Eyes and Protection is imperative to this story. You will begin to read this and just—your mind will be blown… seriously. Go read the other two chapter stories first, if you're interested in this one. I promise you, both stories are worth it. **

**I hope that this final story in the series will gratify everyone in some small portion. Edward and Bella were very happy where they were, but I can't allow that to happen for too long, now can I? **

_It's not that I didn't care. Because I did. But I had to leave her. She had to stay the person she was. I would change all that. I had to…_

At that moment, Edward came storming up to me, clutching a handful of papers. I stopped typing. He would have to interrupt my train of thought at such a crucial moment.

Of course, if I had mind reading abilities, it would not be so difficult for me to write. Because then I could just get into Edward's head and figure out what the boy had been thinking when he had left me all those years ago.

Ok… so it had only been fifteen years ago. But I still didn't look a day over eighteen.

He had actually tried to talk me out of it. Out of writing our story. I wrote it in my perspective the most but I found reasons to write in his perspective sometimes. Like this particular part.

He said he would never read it. He swore he wouldn't. For the first two months, every time I sat down in front of the computer he stormed out of the house and ran for miles.

But it was important. I didn't want to forget it. And I was already losing important parts of my memory. Like the feeling when I had first saw him. My first impression of him. Which wasn't good at all.

I think that's what he hated the most. That even if I didn't clearly remember, if I wrote it down, I would always have an impression of him from the first time he and I locked eyes.

That dark sinister hole that had been his eyes. I would never forget it.

By the third month of writing--I only wrote in the evenings. I did have a job. Even half breeds go crazy inside cute little farmhouses on Gregory Road--Edward had gotten curious. I caught him trying to find the file on the computer.

Simpleton.

I knew he would get anxious. That's why I had it saved on my USB key, safely kept in a box on top of my dresser.

Edward finally gave up his search and asked me where I kept it. He looked so pitiful I surrendered. And surprisingly, on the parts that I had written in his perspective, he gave me more pointers. He told me more about what had been going on in his mind.

And we got closer to each other.

After I first let Edward in on my writings, he began printing copies so that he wouldn't have to sit in front of a computer. And the night I was typing our ill-fated break up in the woods, he began to read the part about the dance studio and James.

I knew it had been coming. But I hadn't known exactly what reliving that day would do to him.

It was the sweetest reaction, I think. He came searching for me… looking all fierce. Not like the doctor who had just come home from treating head colds and surface wounds.

"Why would you let me read this?" he asked, thrusting the papers into my line of sight. His tone held a measure of intolerance that I had to keep myself from smiling at.

"It's part of the story, Edward. Or did I just really fall through the window at the hotel in Phoenix?" I shook my head, "Without that…ugliness neither of us would be who we are today."

"Still, Bella… I never asked you to recount the memories because I would feel this—this… incomparable rage. And what it must have done to you. To write it all down. To have to experience it all over again." He took my left hand in his and began twirling the wedding band and engagement ring around my finger. Something he did when he wanted reassurance that I was still there. "I just—I didn't know."

"They were my choices." I reminded him. "Choices that I made in haste. I was seventeen. What did I know?" I stood and stepped into his always ready embrace, "You have to remember, there's a happy ending somewhere in that part of the story. I think it's the part where I refer to you as an angel… and said angel saved me from vampiric damnation, by sucking my venom tainted, sweet tasting blood until it was clean once again."

Edward grimaced at the memory.

"I maintain that you were a head case that day. Actually, anything you did within that span of three days does not count." He kissed my forehead.

"If you say so," I shrugged. Actually, I knew that I was of sound mind that day. Because I had enough sense to spend my final moments of sanity thinking about Edward. Imagining our life together.

It had looked nothing like this little farmhouse on Gregory Road.

"Well.. I think I am done with this tonight." Edward reached around me to place the rumpled papers on my desk.

"My brain's just about frazzled, too." I nodded against him.

"Would you like me to carry you to bed? Or would you like to—" his sentence was interrupted by Alice's presence.

"Can I help you?" I asked, playfully scowling at my friend. She came nearer to us and her facial expression alarmed me.

"How long?" Edward's voice choked out. I still hated his mind reading capabilities. I was left out of the loop far too much.

"A day, maybe two." She whispered, "We've been expecting it." And then she was gone.

I REALLY hated being left out. Especially when it was my sister and my husband keeping things from me.

"Edward," I seasoned my voice with a warning.

"I had forgotten." He sighed. His arms wrapped tighter around me and I tried to think of what might bring about this reaction.

"Do you really not remember? They may have left us alone for a while, but we knew they were coming back." Edward's voice was a whisper. Then I realized.

"The Volturi." I gasped.

**Did you not expect that? Come on… seriously… Edward was in a coma, Forks was attacked by the Seattle Vampire. The Volturi had to be next. **

**Now… review. Because I'm still writing my magazine article and the only way you're going to get a new chapter out of me is if I see review numbers go up. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Hooray! Chapter one! Remember that I am a developing writer. The momentum of this story will not pick up for the next few chapters because I'm setting the stage.**

**Holes will be filled and the plot will be revealed along the way. By Chapter 3... things will begin to speed up. I already know because I'm already there… writing. Chapter 2 is in editing and will possibly be up on Tuesday. **

**Remember that I don't own Twilight, New Moon or Eclipse. I only own this fabulous plot… and any characters (like Seamus) that might come out of it. **

We all stood, closely grouped in the large office at Edward and Carlisle's practice. All eight of us. It was close quarters and the tension in the room was high.

"We knew it was coming," Emmett shrugged. He was ready for a fight. He _wanted_ a fight. That was just Emmett.

"But so fast?" Edward spat. All these years he had managed to keep that temper at a dull roar, but now, it was back full force.

As soon as Alice had given us the news, Edward completely transformed. Gone was the doctor's patient temperament. Gone was the seeming dignified older look that usually graced his face.

He had reverted back to the days when I was a human and he was a vampire. And for some unknown reason, he even looked seventeen again.

Even though he was always seventeen.

I can't explain it clearly. I had known he could look older, because of those eyes of his. The ancient quality held secrets that would terrify both man and beast. But as he went along, studying the medical arts, knowing the end result was some sort of practice in medicine and not just another meaningless medical degree, his whole persona changed. He became a little more like Carlisle everyday.

As our lives became more and more intertwined, I learned a lot more about Edward than I had even known. He was... even more complex. As my intellect grew, his mind unfolded that much more. And he delighted in helping me learn. It was such an interesting part of him. And it made me love him even more. Was that even possible?

Edward's growl brought me back into the present. That growl was a part that seemed long forgotten to me. Almost foreign. He tightened the hold he'd had on me since we first walked into the house. That was not an unfamiliar gesture, which I was glad for.

"It's not like we can just—all disappear. They'll eventually find us." Alice seemed to be reminding Edward. I had missed a big chunk of conversation, obviously.

"They might find us… but they'd never find Bella. If she was alone." Edward reminded.

"Are you serious?" I wrenched away from his grip on me, slamming him into the wall behind us. I leveled him a severe look, "This is not fifteen years ago, Edward. I was a HUMAN then. I did not have the speed or the strength. Or my own built in protective system."

"You were also not a half breed then. That is almost worse than you being a human. Because you and I—we're not supposed to happen," Edward's expression was fierce, as he balanced himself gracefully against the wall where I had pushed him, "We are the very example of abomination as far as the Volturi will be concerned. They will want to—I don't know! I don't know what they could do to understand what happened to us. But I have no doubt they will want to study us. And they might even want to destroy us."

As he spoke he propped himself against the wall more casually, folding his arms. His eyes conveyed a haughtiness that I didn't appreciate. It was the kind of look that taunted "think about that for a moment." But I pushed the word "destroy" out of my mind and recognized the edge of anxiety that his eyes held.

"Bella, it may be best if you go. Let us take care of the Volturi." Esme laid a hand on my arm, speaking softly.

Her soothing only served to ruffle my internal feathers even more. I could not believe it! My own family. They knew my capabilities. They knew my strengths as well as my weaknesses. I could handle the Volturi. It was more that the Volturi should be afraid to try to take me.

"I cannot." I shook my head, trying to contain my anger, for Esme's sake, "Last time, I was not equipped with the ability to blow up attacking vampires."

"Bella! Do you not remember what HAPPENED when you blew up Noah?" Alice scowled, advancing towards me, "Your heart—just—freaked out. We didn't know what happened to you. And I'm not going to put up with you endangering yourself because you think that you're indestructible."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Edward nodded. I sent a scathing look his direction.

"Quiet, all of you," Carlisle spoke softly. _His_ composure hadn't been broken. For that, I was thankful, "When this option was laid on the table years ago, it was because you were a human… a temptation to the Volturi. Now you are not. But you and Edward are not what they wanted you to be. I do not believe that it will help matters that you can—protect yourself. Especially when the end result is your heart's reaction. It may be a good idea for you to take a trip somewhere, alone."

"Be serious, Carlisle." Edward blurted from his stance against the wall. He was going to say more, but Carlisle's look, and maybe his mind, stopped any further verbal communication from Edward.

"I know that you don't want to be separated from Bella, but Demetri will be able to find you both if you're with her. She'll have to go alone, if you want to protect her." Carlisle's sigh echoed through the room.

I allowed myself to consider the idea for a split second. It would keep me out of immediate danger. But it would not guarantee Edward's protection.

"A trip alone?" Alice murmured with a blank look on her face and she smiled while I continued to consider it. "That is an interesting thought."

"Wait… I see it… kind of… now." Edward was watching Alice. His face was becoming less guarded as he drew conclusions from the vision that Alice was obviously experiencing.

I pushed the idea of leaving out of my mind. I could not… would not leave Edward and the rest of the family because they thought it would be safer for me. We were a family of eight. Not eight individuals or four couples.

"Excuse me! Hello… Care to clue me in on exactly what plan you think is going to work?" Exasperation colored my tone.

"They want you to go away… but they would have us situated close enough to each other that I could always be near, but I would be far enough away that they would never find you." Edward explained patiently, stepping towards me. He was calm, really. I didn't feel so tranquil.

"That is ridiculous. They'll still take you," I glared at him, "And I'm not going to allow that to happen. At least not without me."

I folded my arms across my chest and focused on Edward's face. He may have been feigning indifference, but his eyes told me that he would not stand down.

So neither would I.

"This is not helping," Jasper's cold hand connected with my arm. My arms fell limp beside me as Jasper's serenity took over my body. "Bella, it would be much easier for us to hide you. If you are gone, they won't be able to detect you. Be reasonable."

I couldn't believe this. Did they not realize that even with me gone, Edward would still be a half breed? And they would still take him back to Volterra? I was almost sure of it.

"Jasper," I knocked his hand off my arm, "I cannot—will not—be sent off into exile. We would just be waiting for the Volturi to decide what to do with Edward. It's inexcusable."

"BELLA!" Emmett suddenly roared. I saw Rosalie jump out of the corner of my eye before I turned towards the large vampire to my left. Emmett didn't scare me so much as he annoyed me. But he had never yelled at me like this before. When I faced him, it was with reluctance. When I finally looked into his eyes, I saw a conflict raging within him. The same one that plagued all of us.

"Bella," Emmett breathed, "You have to. Please. We can hold our own with the Volturi. We will come up with some excuse as to why you aren't here. Maybe you died when we were trying to turn you. Edward was left a half breed because of whatever happened. We may have to go to Volterra, but we would never let anything happen to Edward. You've got to understand. He's been my brother longer than he's been your mate. We are very fond of him, no matter how annoying his mood changes are or inconvenient his mind reading is."

"We promise." Alice nodded, "We would rather have you safe. And we'll just move you to a town nearby. Within running distance for Edward. If you ever needed him, you would only have to call."

I stared at all of them. They were really asking me to do this. To leave. They were confident it would work and they would be able to just go to Italy and return back with Edward in tow.

"And if they decide to keep him?" I whispered, glancing at Edward. His gaze was locked on the floor.

"I really don't think they will." Carlisle shook his head, "Edward is bound to keep the vampire code because he was a vampire, and he has kept it. They have no fight with him. Aro will possibly be more intrigued than anything."

"You can promise me there will be no danger for him?" I scrutinized Carlisle's face.

"I can promise." He nodded.

My resolve was crumbling. I wondered if I was just overreacting. I trusted our family to keep him safe. I did not trust myself to stay sane, being away from him. A selfish problem to have, I suddenly realized.

"Bella," Edward stepped towards me, reaching for my hand, "Please. Do this for me. Ease my mind. You are my wife. I don't want anything to happen to you."

His emerald eyes pleaded with me. Sometimes it still caught me off guard that they were green and not gold. But they were anxious at whatever he had seen in Alice's mind.

And something inside me broke. Some invisible knife that cut through my resolve. I couldn't be selfish. I could not deny him peace of mind. If Edward wanted me to be away while the Volturi came, then I would be away.

"Alright." I nodded, grudgingly. He drew me into a tight embrace.

"I will never be far. I promise." He whispered into my ear.

"Come on. Let's go get Bella packed up. It would be better if we could get her moved tomorrow." Esme announced decidedly, herding everyone towards the door.

**A/N- I know! It's short. But seriously… they get longer.**

**Or they'll get longer… as long as you guys remember to REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Woo… here's another chapter… from me… to you. **

**Remember that I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. Just the plot and the characters that are born from the plot (although… I really don't want Noah… so someone else can have the little bugger if they want him.) **

I sat in the chair in the corner of my furnished apartment. I had imagined we would find a nice hotel in a neighboring town and I would stay there. It made plenty of sense to me. But it had made no sense to Edward.

As soon as I had consented—reluctantly, by the way—he began planning. In the first hour he had called a friend from medical school in Boston and found a furnished apartment for me to move into. It was in the suburban outskirts of Boston, situated along a tree line that would give Edward easy access to the apartment, if he decided to run, instead of drive to me.

"I would feel better if you were in a well populated area." Edward explained, when he announced where I would be staying, "The Volturi may recognize you in an area less populated. Your enhanced beauty might stick out like a particularly sore thumb. But in the midst of the crowds of people and the business of the city, you will be able to move around a little more freely. I won't feel the need to escort you everywhere you go, even though I would rather you tried to stay at the apartment as much as possible."

He was definitely in strategy mode. This was Jasper's doing. Edward was already capable of over thinking everything. But after studying Jasper's mindset for a while, Edward began to use it's consistency in times of chaos. Like my departure from the family. If he kept everything relatively uniform, he could control his own emotions as well, effectively tricking me into thinking my absence would be little more than an inconvenience to him.

Jasper and his stupid military background.

Edward was not as good at it as Jasper was, though. For that I was thankful. His eyes always revealed the emotion that he was feeling.

And his eyes were positively tortured. He didn't like this idea any better than I did. I could tell that. He probably liked it even less because I would be unguarded. At one point, I tried to exploit that look in his eyes.

"Edward, stop this. If you don't want me to leave, just say so. I know you don't like this. Let me stay here." I laid a hand on his arm, willing him to turn those pained eyes to me. He warred with himself in that moment. I could tell his indecision was based upon my safety and his anxiety.

And I thought I had him talked into it. But those green orbs closed me out and he shook his head.

"Bella, you have to go. You have to get away from here. You're the reason that we are half breeds. You would have to be the reason. And then they would want to know if you have a gift. They will _want_ you to use your gift. You could be destroyed. I will not allow it."

He pulled me into a desperate embrace and I realized how much I needed his touch. This was not fair. How would I survive without him for any length of time?

Esme found us standing like that in our bedroom and couldn't resist the urge to wrap her own arms around the both of us.

"Everything will be fine, my dears." She had murmured, although her eyes spoke her worry clearly.

Sitting in that chair in the corner of the apartment I wished that it hadn't only been an hour since Edward had left. He had brought me alone that morning because Alice had predicted a cloudlessly sunny day. There were few words between us as he stood on the doorstep, preparing to leave. He held me fiercely and kissed me hard. I had a lingering wonder if he wouldn't stay for a few hours. But he didn't.

"I don't want to make this hard on both of us." He whispered in my ear, "And I need to act as normally as possible. Going in to the office is normal."

So there I sat, motionless, staring at the wall. Unable to sleep because of restlessness. Wondering what I was going to do with an infinite amount of time, under a house arrest like this. It was voluntary house arrest, but house arrest nonetheless.

I thought, forlornly, of my PR job. Of Edward and Carlisle's medical practice. Of Esme's beautiful mansion. Of our adorable farmhouse.

With the Volturi's arrival, our small corner of Utopia would be destroyed. If they believed I was dead, they would expect the Cullens to move on. Edward was getting well known in Massachusetts and drawing a little too much attention to himself. They would see that as a problem, even if he was only a half breed. There was no use mourning it. We knew that we would have to be moving on soon anyways, but to be forced to move—it was such an intolerable thought.

My eyes landed on my laptop case. And I smiled wanly.

If I couldn't have Edward here… I could at least get lost in our story.

In the kitchen I didn't need, I sat up the laptop and opened up the latest chapter. I sighed when I realized where I was in the narrative.

The part where Edward left. I refused to write very much on my own experience. It _had_ been difficult to write my encounter with James in the dance studio. The small glimmer in those bleak pages was the part where the hero—we'll call him Edward—swooped in and saved me.

I began tentatively typing again. Picking up where I left off.

_It's not that I didn't care. Because I did. But I had to leave her. She had to stay the person she was. I would change all that. I had to go. As much as it pained me. My poor silent heart would be left with her. _

_It took me three days to get the courage to. And even then, I knew I would have to break her own heart in order to get her to let me go. Because she kept holding on. _

_So I lied. I told her the worst thing that could have slipped out of my lips. _

I stopped typing. I couldn't type his words. As long as it had been. As much as time had proved his promise. It still hurt.

I sighed. This was getting me nowhere. I hit the save button and logged into my e-mail account. Sure enough, I had an e-mail from Renee.

I had not seen my mother in about ten years. She had been at my graduation from college with Phil, bursting with pride at my cum lade status. And then she had walked me down the aisle at our wedding in place of Charlie.

It was almost too dangerous to go and see her now. When I should be looking around thirty some years old and chasing children around—according to her. So, e-mails and brief phone calls would have to suffice.

_Bella,_

_I was just e-mailing to check in. Phil, Shannon and I are great. _

_Shannon received her birthday present in the mail. Seriously, Bella. Don't think I didn't notice that the pendant in Shannon's necklace was encrusted with at least a karat of diamonds. I imagine Edward picked it out. You would have been far more practical._

_Shannon's birthday was great. She had a slumber party with six of her friends here at the house. I had expected a lot of giggling and chattering. But she's so much like you Bella. They watched movies and talked about what books they'd been reading and stuff… and then they went to bed before midnight and I barely heard a peep out of them after that. It's so disconcerting. But you were the same way._

_I hope everyone is well. Are you guys still sticking together with Carlisle and Esme? And how is Alice? I hear from her every once in a while, but not lately. _

_I'll be looking forward to hearing from you. _

_I love you_

_Mom_

I had met my baby sister Shannon at my wedding. She had been an adorable two-year-old at the time. But she had grown up far too fast for me. Now she was almost a young woman, with her dark hair straight down her back and her green eyes expressive.

Edward swears that besides the eyes, she looks exactly like me.

I began typing my reply back to Renee. Being very vague as usual. I didn't have to really say much. Renee always forgot our whereabouts and most of the details. She was always just happy to hear from me. And I was always happy to hear from her.

And just like that, another hour had passed. Now I knew what Edward had meant when he said that he had lived hour by hour when he'd left me.

The thought inspired me to begin writing again. Just ahead of the story a bit. And continuing in Edward's point of view.

_I sat in the woods. It was daytime and the sunlight floated through the trees, showering me with beams and sending my exposed skin into sparkling illumination. This did not improve my mood any. The weather had been surprisingly sunny for Ohio in the winter and I was beginning to rethink my own tracking techniques. _

_Victoria had been here. That much I knew for sure. But she always edged away from the boundary of my mind reading scope. Always keeping far enough away from me. Irritating me._

_I could not advance in the daytime here though. The woods were too thin. I could run from one edge of a forest to another in half an hour. So I fed in the daytime. And waited. Waited for Victoria to make a wrong move. _

_It was no use though. This did not distract me from thoughts of Bella. Of her face when I said… well… I had crushed her. That much I was sure of. And I would absolutely burn in hell for that, if for no other crime I had committed over the last hundred years. _

_I closed my eyes, willing myself to focus on better times with Bella. Better circumstances. Like the very first day we were in the meadow. Her countenance that day had been surprising. She was calm and collected. I only saw real fear in her eyes when I slammed that tree branch into another tree. _

_And suddenly, like a dream, I was back in that day. I could almost imagine her mouthwatering smell. Her hair, so soft. Her touch so warm—so inviting. And I was so in love with her. What I wouldn't give to just hold her again. To feel that._

_Before I realized it, dry sobs were wracking my body with convulsions. Grief at my own protective nature coursed through my body._

I felt the grief myself. Edward had only shared with me a few of his experiences from those dark months of our lives. Thinking about them drained me of energy and I suddenly felt the need to lie down.

I stumbled towards the living room where there was a big fluffy couch waiting to embrace me. I hadn't been able to sleep at all during the night before. But unexpectedly sleep found me long before I could even reach for the thin blanket on the back of the couch.

**A/N- TADA! Ok.. Review… because I'm only a day or so away from posting the next chapter… and if I see all these reviews… I might be more inspired to do so…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N-Dear readers… I missed Edward's point of view. And this story is just missing something without his perspective. So… for every few chapters of Bella's perspective, there will be one or two chapters of Edward. **

**I love writing Edward's perspective and I feel like (sometimes) I'm more in tune with what he might be thinking than Bella. Strange, huh?**

**So remember that I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse… therefore…. I don't own many of the characters in this series. **

Edward's POV

I frowned at my wrinkled scrubs. It had been a long day. Thankfully, all of my medical instincts had kicked in so I could run on autopilot without much trouble. My mind had been forty miles away, with Bella, all day.

I had missed her during my morning routine earlier. The TV usually blasted the news throughout the house. My scrubs were usually clean, pressed and laying out on the bed waiting for me. She was usually sharing the big mirror in the bathroom with me, getting ready for work herself. I felt like we were divorced, being separated like this. And the mindset did not help my mood.

Looking around the apartment I could tell she hadn't done much while I was gone. Her laptop laid open, screensaver on, at the kitchen table. Her bags were still stacked where I had placed them beside the door. Nothing seemed out of place. She hadn't even pulled the thin blanket off the couch to cover up with.

She just slept. It was a deep, troubled sleep.

I had first thought that it was impossible for us to be affected by our thoughts during sleep. But our unconscious mind is not untroubled by the conscious worries of the world.

She winced again in her sleep and I wondered if I should wake her up. Truthfully, the only thing that I really desired was to snuggle up beside her. Neither of us had slept the night before, worrying over each other. I had been more than dead on my feet—no pun intended—at the office.

Looking at her, I was glad that she was getting any rest… I had expected to find her sitting up in a chair staring blankly out a window. I hadn't promised that I would come, but after checking with Alice, I knew it would be safe for me to at least visit and spend the evening with her.

So my mind began to wander, as it sometimes did. Blocking out the dozen or so voices that were in my mind reading range, I began to wonder just exactly what the Volturi would think of my current state. Were Bella's fears accurate? Was there more in store for me—for us—than an interview and a reprieve from the royal vampires?

I didn't bear to think about it. It was going to be hard enough creating some lie that left Bella dead, without explaining why I didn't come back to Volterra myself, asking for death again.

And Alice's visions were becoming more and more vivid. I would have to leave. Go to Volterra. We all would. Leaving Bella here. Where she could be safe.

I didn't want her to be alone. I didn't want to have to leave. I suddenly felt the urge to stomp my foot like a three year old. As if that would help the situation. It would only serve to wake Bella up.

I thought of the options. I could send her to Renee's. As much as I hated to think about it, Bella's appearance could be altered slightly to make her look older. Her hair could be cut. Alice could encourage her to wear a little bit of makeup.

Or she could go to Denali. Tanya and her family would welcome Bella with open arms. And she would be safe there, away from probing eyes and pretensions.

On the edge of my mind was another alternative. Something I almost dared not think. But there it was. Jacob. It was only a comforting thought because I knew Jacob was capable of taking care of her. And if his pack was still active and tried to attack her, she could take care of herself.

I sighed. All of these plans hinged on her being far away from me. It was an idea I more than disliked.

**A/N- So what do you think? Will it be too confusing if Edward has some say in this story? Review and tell me! Please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- I realize that this story has had little to no "other Cullen" activity. Mainly because Bella is holed up in an apartment away from the rest of the family. Worry not, dear ones, because all of our favorite vampires will re-enter the scene within chapter 7 or 8. **

**I believe this is going to be a longer story because I'm adding Edward's point of view in. I have to caution you, though. His chapters will be short—two Word document pages at the most. But we sort of have three points of view in this story anyways. The first is Bella's POV, the second is Edward's POV, and the third is Bella's writing. **

**As we go along you'll see a trend in Bella's writing. They're almost like one shots of their own, giving you a chance to see into parts of the story that Stephenie skimmed over in the first two books and then parts that I skimmed over in the second two stories in this series. I hope you enjoy them. **

**Remember—I don't own Twilight. Or it's characters. I just like to borrow them—a lot. **

Bella's POV

As I came back into consciousness, I stretched, keeping my eyes squeezed shut. Then I realized where I was. And wondered what Edward was doing.

A small ripple reverberated through my chest at the thought of him. I didn't know when I would see him next. The idea that I might not see him for weeks—unless I called—seemed a bit unbearable for me.

Of course I wouldn't call him. It might place him in danger if the Volturi were present. So I would lay here, with my eyes closed, missing him… and trying not to ache at missing him.

A sigh from across the room made me sit up and turn so fast, if I hadn't been half vampire, I'm sure I would have fallen from the couch.

"Edward," I tried to rearrange my face to hide my surprise. It was no use though. His slow, lopsided grin formed as he crossed the room and very gracefully flopped down beside me.

"I knew I would surprise you, Bella, but I guess I didn't expect you to be asleep on the couch. There is a bed, you know." His fingers grazed my face and then twisted into my hair lightly, bringing my face to his for a short kiss.

"I was writing and I guess I got tired. The couch was closer." I shrugged and placed my head on his chest so that I could hear his heart. He shifted around so that he was stretched out along the couch, our legs ending in a tangle.

"So, can I safely guess that you have been asleep most of the day?" his voice rumbled, tickling my cheek.

"Yes. The first hour and a half or so was spent on my computer. But after that I was so exhausted from not getting any sleep last night that I just collapsed. How was your day? Were you very busy?" I looked up at him, suddenly worried that he might have been a little out of it himself.

"I was busy enough to keep my hands occupied. But I haven't slept in almost 40 hours. I'm going to crash soon. I thought I might crash with you, if you don't mind." The hand he rubbed up and down my arm sent gentle tingles through me.

"I don't mind at all," I burrowed deeper into his chest. He chuckled, tickling my cheek again.

I listened as Edward's breathing became steady. He should have gone home and slept. Closed down the office for the day. But he would not upset balances. He would keep up appearances and make sure everything ran smoothly before he let himself take a moment's rest.

A part of me was furious at the fact that we had to live like nomads. That I didn't know when he was going to leave and when he was going to come back. Alice, I'm sure, had the Volturi's arrival timed to the moment, so why couldn't Edward stay with me until then?

Why did I have to live in exile by myself, when there was no reason for me to be exiled at the moment?

I glanced up at the angelic sleeping face of my husband and knew why. Because he—even after all my years as a half breed—felt the incessant need to protect me. To overprotect me. And our entire family was behind him. I wondered what Alice had seen when I had been completely against the idea of being sent away. I had a feeling Edward wouldn't have been so relentless if it had been good.

I also had a feeling whatever he and Alice had shared from her visions would be his fate no matter what.

Stupid, overprotective husband of mine.

I sighed when I thought the word husband. Because as much as I disliked his plan, I wanted to give him a measure of sanity. To placate him. It was part of the package deal. Because I love him.

It had just been a very long time since I had to accommodate so much of that protective instinct of his. Truthfully, it had probably been our battle in Seattle when Edward had been so obstinate about allowing me to hunt for Victoria and Noah.

As I continued to stare at Edward's sleeping profile, the fear rose up in me. What had Alice seen? What would the Volturi do to Edward? My experience with the royal coven had been limited to the one meeting in Italy. I could only imagine how they would react to our half baked forms….

If only there was a way he could stay here, undetected.

I carefully untangled myself from Edward and got up. There had to be a way. I could figure it out.

I sat down at my computer and looked over what I had written about Edward's time away from me. It was sufficient. But I was suddenly glad that Edward was the only person really reading my writing. No one would understand as much as we did, how gut-wrenching that whole affair had been.

I clicked out of the document. There was only one thing on my mind.

Was there a way to block mind reading? I began scanning websites, trying to see what kind of information there was about mind reading. Most of the techniques involved spells with power crystals and incantations. I didn't think Edward would go for that.

I also had to consider the fact that we were technically vampires. And that meant all human rules were broken—even supernatural sounding ones. Our minds are far more complex than any human's and thinking about more than one thing was not uncommon. It was probably how Edward had managed to get through the day at his office.

I frowned at the screen. Searching was frustrating. I should have been super sleuthing all day, instead of sleeping. I mean—I had pretty much cracked the case on Edward's coma. I felt confident that I would find a way to keep him here with me. Away from the Volturi.

Then we would both be safe.

I backtracked my thinking. The problem began with the fact that Demetri could find people by the tenor of their minds. So, finding out the functions of the brain would be the first thing on the agenda.

I could have woken up Edward and made him tell me how exactly the mind works, but he was far gone to the world and I wanted him to have as much rest as he could before he had to leave. So I began my investigation on how the mind works.

I did not want to expend the energy to find out what all the medical terminology meant on the medical sites. I began searching for websites that were designed for eight grade science classes or children's museums. It would have been easier if Jasper had been here. He would have known where to look.

I finally found the website that met my specifications: simple and easy to understand.

It should have been shut down. It was set up by a middle school teacher for her class in 2003. Such an old site. I imagined that there were many sites like it though. So I began to peruse the information.

I learned about the nervous system and I imagined that, if nothing else, that part of a vampire's anatomy was the same as a human's. Our minds still had to have control over our reflexes.

The next page was a little more in depth. Words that I imagined were definitions for the class were in bold. Things like cerebrum and medulla oblongata. But it was nothing that I needed to know.

The final pages talked about personality and the brain. Left brains and right brains. Women's minds versus men's minds.

I don't know if it was reading about the brain or what, but suddenly, I remembered a conversation I had with Edward right after a lecture on the functions of the brain. And I realized there could be only one way that a person—half breed or human—could protect their mind.

It all connected in my brain so fast that I had jumped up and pounced on Edward before I could manage to think of how to tell him.

His eyes flashed open and sent a sleepy smile at me.

"Bella, I was asleep. You could have woke me up a little easier. Although I have missed you," And with a jerk of Edward's arms I was pinned to the couch cushions and he was smiling down on me. His lips crashed down on mine and his hands roamed down my arms and towards my waist, further scattering my thoughts. When his hand slipped down my hip my mind reconnected with my body.

"EDWARD! Stop. That's not why I woke you up!" I giggled a little and smirked. He groaned and collapsed all his weight on me.

"Then why?" he whined. It was a pitiful sound, but I had a mission. And I wouldn't be distracted—at the moment.

"Listen… I don't like it," I tried to push on his shoulder, "I don't like that I'm here… guarded by my closed mind. And you—you might have to go to Italy because we are—the way we are." That got him to sit up.

"Bella, please. This situation is not up for discussion. You are here and you're staying." Edward grabbed my hands and squeezed, "My only concern is that Aro will be able to see our most recent thoughts of you."

"What if there was an alternative? A way that both of us could be here together? When the Volturi's messengers come?" I asked, gauging the look on his face.

"There is no way. They'll find me because of Demetri." He sighed, tapping his temple.

"Well, since you've been asleep, I have been thinking. And researching," I fiddled with our fingers between us, "I was going to wake you up, but you would have spouted medical terminology at me. I have been looking at how the human mind works. Of course, ours is more intricate… but there are a lot of similarities. And I wondered if there was something that we might do to create a kind of mind force field for you. Because then you could stay here with me."

Edward's face had taken on an interested quality.

"So what did you learn?" he prompted me.

"Well, I really didn't learn anything. After I re-learned the whole nervous system… and all the functions that pertained to our brains and personality… I realized that I was looking at it the wrong way." I shrugged, "I was asking myself what we could do that would keep your _conscious_ mind away from Demetri." I paused and watched him.

Within seconds realization dawned on his face. I waited for the follow-up expression. But it never came.

"So I'm suggesting that we put you to sleep for the entire time that the Volturi troops are here." I stated, trying to find a trace of anything. He just looked like he was deep in thought.

Finally he spoke.

"And you are really ok with me being asleep the entire time that the Volturi are here? What if they still find us? Bella, our minds aren't completely dormant when we sleep." His cool façade was driving me nuts.

"Does it matter?" I knew I sounded a little more than frustrated, but we were talking about him being able to stay away from the Volturi too. It was important and he was acting all… nonchalant.

"It's an interesting theory, Bella. But it still endangers you. What exactly do you think would happen if my mind happened to give us away while I was asleep? Here you would be, wide awake and the Volturi guard storms in. They would be angry, because my family would tell them that we're dead. When we aren't. And when they find us alive… well.. I'm sure that we'd still be dragged to Italy." Edward's voice wasn't condescending or disapproving. Just honest. And concerned.

"But if we ask Alice… she might be able to see." I reminded him. He pulled me into his chest and began stroking my hair.

"And what if I don't want to be asleep for days?" he chuckled. I could tell he was trying to joke with me, but it was probably disconcerting for him to imagine himself asleep the entire time the Volturi were visiting.

"Edward, I would rather you be asleep and safe, than be headed to Italy because of something that is ultimately my fault." I sighed.

"Do you really want to argue with me about that?" Edward's snort was audible. Of course he would argue that if he hadn't been in existence none of it would have happened. I might have been on a completely different path. But he existed and I was there. End of story.

And it was my fault. If I had just waited for Edward to get off his plane in Phoenix… or if I had just told Jasper and Alice that it had been James on the phone… or the several other ifs in my brain… then I would be a full fledged vampire... probably with a completely different gift.

"No arguing. I'm calling Alice." I slipped off the couch and snatched up my cell phone from my purse. It was ringing as soon as I had it in my hand.

The caller ID told me it was, in fact, Alice herself.

"You are one tricky lady," she laughed when I had the phone open.

"You seriously thought I was just going to come here to this—jail cell without a fight. So tell me Alice. Will it work?" I asked, turning away from Edward so I wouldn't see his face looking its most stubborn.

"Well, if you mean the whole Edward asleep, the Volturi coming to see us and not finding you two thing… yeah. It's going to work. Edward still isn't going for it though, is he? I keep getting these warring visions.. first Edward is here… then he's asleep there. That's natural. Edward hasn't accepted that your idea might work better than his." She sighed, "Although… his way would have kept you safe. He just would have ended up in Volterra." She paused and I wondered if she was shuddering at the visions that came to her, "I think we all like this better."

"I like it too." I admitted.

"I'm sure you do. Try to talk him into it Bella. I already have Carlisle looking for a strong sleeping medicine. They're difficult to find since all the pharmacies are closed and vampires don't need sleeping pills. We'll come out later tonight." Alice hung up.

I turned to Edward and smiled an evil smile.

"You have to make everything so difficult." He murmured.

"Of course I do. Did you really believe that I was just going to come here and sit around, knowing that you could have possibly been in danger? Edward, there are several things you are not telling me. Things about Alice's visions. Things about the Volturi. And since you seemed to intend on keeping me in the dark, I decided to take some action myself," I paused to smile at him.

"I love you. That makes me very dangerous to anyone who threatens your existence. Even the Volturi. Especially the Volturi." I sighed, "You've got to see how distressing this is for me."

"It is even more distressing to me." Edward countered, "Because if I were asleep, there would be no way for me to protect you."

"You forget my habit of blowing up vampires." I scowled.

"And you think you can just turn your protective instinct on and off?" he asked, "You've only done this once—twice if you count fixing yourself. But Bella… I could not bear it if I was to wake up and you were—well.. the way you had been. It tore me apart in Ireland to see you in so much pain."

"I wish that I could practice using it." I muttered, not really listening to Edward's heartfelt rant. That earned me a severe scowl.

"Bella, I don't think that would be the best idea in the world." Edward twisted his lips in a wry expression.

"No, I'm sure it wouldn't be. Especially since I have no attacker to blow up." I laughed, "Listen. Alice and well… maybe all of them, are coming over in a bit. Just—be open minded ok? Wait until you have seen what Alice has."

"Fine." He sighed, "But if there's anything—anything that indicates danger… that's the end of the line of thinking."

**A/N- So… what do you think? Now that Edward isn't going to Italy? Review and tell me. Because that's the best way to get the next chapter up. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Hello all. I have no opening comments other than to thank all of my readers for some of the best reviews I've seen… Seriously… here is proof that reviews fuel the writing fire: I have three chapters AFTER this one ready for editing. That's amazing!**

**As hard as I've tried, I cannot steal the "Edward and Bella" rights away from Stephenie Meyer. So I'll have to make due with my own story lines and extra characters. I don't own Twilight.**

There had been no holes in Alice's visions. It had been very clean cut. She saw Edward sleeping as the Volturi came and left. Nothing else.

No danger.

No attacks.

It was fool proof.

"It's best for all of us, Edward. I know that you are averse to doing anything that is not your own idea," Carlisle had smirked at his own words then became serious, "But having you both protected will give them no reason to check up on us later. I hate deceiving the Volturi. At one time they were great friends of mine. But now… things are changed. And I want us all to be able to go on as we have been—as a family."

When laid with a guilt trip like that, Edward could not argue. He only nodded solemnly and asked Carlisle what drug he would have to take.

I felt awful after they left. Edward laid on the couch motionless, staring at the bottle of sleeping aids that Carlisle had handed him. I hadn't seen him so unresponsive since the three days after my horrendous 18th birthday party.

I sat in the kitchen, pretending to check my e-mail and type, watching him. I didn't want to feel this way. I didn't want to feel like I had betrayed my own husband. I was only trying to protect both of us. But I felt so selfish.

We sat that way for an hour. Quiet. I almost turned on my music program, just so the silence wouldn't deafen me.

"Bella," Edward finally whispered. I blinked at the bright screen and then let my eyes roll towards him.

"Come here." He beckoned, opening his arms. I tried not to feel too relieved as I fell into his waiting embrace. I still believed I was a traitor.

"You're not a traitor." He murmured, kissing my forehead. I frowned and wondered if he could suddenly read my mind.

"That's what you were thinking, though, right? That you sold me out? I know Carlisle is right." His arms tightened around me, "I just don't like being in exile any more than you do. I feel like I have done something to the family. Some inexcusable thing that makes them ashamed of me—of us."

As much as I wanted, I couldn't allow myself to sink further into my doldrums. Edward being here felt too right for that.

"I just—wish I didn't feel so selfish." I shrugged.

"You aren't selfish." He chuckled, "You're just protective. We all are. And I love you for it. It's one of my favorite things about you. You're so much more interested in keeping everyone else safe."

I let that settle in my mind. It was so easy to feel safe and happy when I was lying in his arms, listening to his even breathing. But there was still one thing I wanted to know. One thing that I didn't want him to protect me from.

"So, if you aren't mad at me, then can I ask you something?" I turned to wrap my arms around his torso and buried my face into his scrubs. His heavenly smell made my sense of well being increase.

"I'm not going to like this, I think, but go ahead." He sighed.

"What did Alice see? Not when it was just you going to Italy. But when it was the both of us?" I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to see his face.

There was a long pause. I knew he was trying to edit. Trying to decide what would be horrible enough to keep me from asking again, but would still leave him with a more tortured knowledge of what awaited us.

"They had you chained to a wall." His voice was ragged, "I don't know how they managed it because if you felt threatened, you probably would have blown up everyone who tried. But you had blown up Felix when he attacked me. Alice saw that. She also saw that you were some sort of—entertainment for them. They watched from a balcony as they sent vampires of low rank in to try to attack you…" he sounded so grieved, I wanted to reach up and silence him, but he continued. "They all were obliterated by your power. But you looked so weak. So pale. That's why I was so adamant about keeping you out of this."

I winced. I knew it had to be something bad. But there were so many questions. How did they have me chained to the wall with my strength? How did they get me chained up like that without blowing everyone up?

"I'm sorry I asked." I sighed, knowing it didn't matter anymore. We were safe and out of the way.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. Would you have gone with less of a fight?"

I thought for a moment.

"I think if that was what Alice continued to see, over and over again, then yes. I would have come here with less of a fight." I nodded, smiling up at him.

"Well, it's good to know that you're still unpredictable, as always." He rolled his eyes, "If I'm going to stay, I'll want something other than these scrubs to wear. I ran here, so I'm going to have to run home. I shouldn't have wasted so much time before." He slipped around me and got up, "Do you need anything from the house?"

"Just come back. Quickly." I smirked. I knew he wouldn't invite me along. With so little time left until the Volturi arrived, he probably wanted me as far away from our house as possible.

"Of course." And then he was a blur that ran towards the bedroom. I imagined that he jumped out the open window into the woods.

It would probably take him an hour or so to get there and come back, so I went back to my computer and called up the piece I had been writing on. I wanted to continue it. To tell my side of the story. But there wasn't much to tell, aside from meeting Jacob, which had further complicated things.

It was probably more imperative that I forget most of the details about those six months when Edward was gone. His memory would be sufficient enough for the both of us.

I was still interested in writing Edward's point of view though. So I gathered up all my strength and began typing.

_She was in my arms. It was like the heavens had opened up and dropped an angel into my grasp. No matter that I had to endure the mortified minds of the Volturi. Never mind that I had been writhing on the floor from Jane's painful mind tricks. _

_Bella was back. And she had come running. I was so relieved. So… complete._

_I pulled her closer to me and wrapped the long dark cloak around her tighter. Her shivering had stopped, but her eyes were glazed over. She was mindlessly playing with my hair—which was distracting—but it felt amazing._

_Amazing to have her hands in my hair. To have her intoxicating smell so close to me. And her incredible warmth. _

_My poor dead heart felt more alive than it ever had. _

"You know—you're pretty good at writing my thoughts. Are you sure that you can't read my mind?" Edward's voice made me jump.

"Yes, I'm sure," I shoved his face away from my shoulder and then frowned at his appearance, "Not those pants."

"Oh, quit whining." He rolled his eyes.

When we finally made it to Boston College, Edward started realizing how much more casual college had become. No one actually dressed for classes that were before noon. Sweat pants and pajamas were acceptable modes of dress. He had embraced the idea wholeheartedly and found the most hideous pair of pajama pants known to the western world.

They were brown. I had liked brown before these pajama pants. But these were a horrible shade of brown… so awful there's no explanation. And the pattern across the brown was a rainbow of paint splatters.

It looked like someone had eaten lucky charms and trix and thrown up on these pants staining them forever. The rest of the family agreed with me.

You would think that as an entity from the early 20th century, he would have better taste, but alas. The brown throw up pants. And don't think I hadn't tried to burn them several times. Emmett supervised most of my attempts, hating the pants as much as me. But Edward always caught us.

And so he stood before me in those things… the brown throw up pants had lasted through college, medical school and his internship and residency.

"Come on. Someday you have to admit that you love the brown throw up pants." Edward chuckled, sitting down in a chair beside me.

"Did you just hear yourself? The brown throw up pants! That sounds so disgusting. I just don't know how you can take yourself seriously when you look like that," I laughed through my words, internally admitting to myself that he would probably look good in anything, including those stupid pajamas.

"You really don't want to mess with me, Bella. I'm going to be a caged animal for the next two days. I think you should be nice." He pouted.

"Excuse me, oh caged one," I said, climbing into his lap, "I think that I was caged first. You seem to forget so easily."

"Hmm," he kissed up my jaw line, "Maybe being caged has its advantages."

"Do you really think that I'm going to be attracted to you in those pants?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I could take them off," his smile was devilish.

"Edward! Not in front of the computer." I giggled, trying to lean away when he caught my earlobe in his mouth.

"Come on, _Mrs. Cullen_." He grabbed me up into a fireman's carry, "We have been apart far too long."

**A/N- Ready, set, REVIEW! Come on. You know you want to comment on the brown throw up pants.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- So, it seems that the brown throw up pants should be in every chapter. But I just don't understand why everyone is GROSSED OUT by them. Heh… I have seen Edward in the brown throw up pants… and let me tell you… it's a beautiful sight.**

**We're continuing on in Edward's POV today… so have fun with this chapterlette…. I'll have Chapter 7 posted up tomorrow!**

**I don't own Twilight, New Moon or Eclipse. I only borrow characters and puppet them so they do what I want. **

Edward's POV

I wrapped my fingers in Bella's hair and watched dust motes float through the shafts of sunlight. In the fringes of daylight, the bedroom of the apartment was actually pretty nice, minus the dust.

Bella was asleep. I couldn't blame her. Our sleep patterns were getting very confused. I had only had a few hours of sleep as it was, but my mind was going a million miles a minute. I would catch up on my sleep soon enough.

Even though no one can really catch up on sleep.

I quietly snickered when my eyes landed on my pajama pants. They were haphazardly thrown on top of the dresser in full view, reminding me just exactly how they got there.

I'll never really understand why Bella has such an aversion to those pants. They're comfortable. It didn't hurt that they drove Alice crazy, too. I'm surprised I hadn't caught Alice helping Bella try to burn them.

My capricious thoughts were getting me no where. I had to focus on what was important. The precautions we were taking. The dangers.

I worried about the location of our apartment. Was it safe enough? Would the Volturi make a big scene with so many people around?

_If they happened to find us,_ I added mentally. I was not completely sure of this plan and had been thankful to see what sleeping drug Carlisle had given me.

Holtzgrab. The only problem had been that it was a needle administered drug, and Bella would have to do the poking.

It kept a person asleep, but didn't completely haul the subject away. The person under the drug could be easily pulled from their stupor.

That was very important. If the Volturi showed up here, Bella could wake me. I would be drowsy for the length of time the medicine lasted, but I would be awake.

It was difficult to think of that possibility. I believe that we relied too heavily on Alice's visions. As far as she saw, the Volturi guard was just being sent to check and make sure that Bella was a vampire. There was no knowing what would actually happen once they came and found out we were "dead".

They hadn't made that choice yet. We could only hope that they continued to follow Aro, Marcus and Caius' orders.

Bella was in the middle of it all. Such a sneaky, persistent person. She knew that if she found a way to keep me here, she would exploit it.

I had to admire her. If we didn't know that her gift was protecting herself then I would wonder if her policeman father hadn't rubbed off on her a lot more than she thought. Detective Bella Cullen, specializing in supernatural cases. Comas, erratic heartbeats and looming royal families had nothing on her.

She stirred and I realized how much I needed to savor small insignificant moments when we could just be together. I began searching myself, wondering if I had forgotten how.

I hated to admit it, but over the years the passion that burned between Bella and I had died down to a comfortable glow. Our relationship had become familiar and easy. Once we had moved to the outer rim of Boston with Carlisle and Esme, we had the chance to get to know one another without the dangerous distractions that had once plagued our minds and our time.

We had fallen into a pattern that was usual for a college couple. Studying together. Sharing lunch on the lawn of the commons—although we never really ate. Going to movies. Spending hours reading and listening to music.

I watched Bella's intellect grow. She had been very intelligent when I met her in high school, but it was fascinating seeing her learn about things like the history of rock and roll—even if I had to endure that awful 60s music—and getting into debates with her about politics of the past and present. She loved reading all the classics over and over again. No teacher had even feigned to challenge her literary repertoire.

Only when Jasper challenged her to learn French so she could read "Waiting for Godot" in its original text did she really get re-interested in literature. She began learning languages and reading more. Soon she was fluent in four languages besides English.

College had been such an affirming time in our lives. High school had been far too tumultuous for us to really lay a foundation. We were given the chance to be comfortable with each other. I didn't always have to be on alert about danger—except for Bella's many persistent admirers.

The Cullen practice gave us the chance to experience the picket fence living and allowed me to practice medicine. Our lives had become almost normal. That normality was something I craved for Bella daily. I would loath the day that she and I had to turn in our wedding rings for school books again.

Bella stirred in her sleep, snapping me out of my reverie. If we ever exchanged wedding rings for textbooks again. I gathered her even closer. There was something fiery that built within me, holding her so close. We would get through this. Just as we had gotten through everything else. Or we would die trying.

**A/N- Brooding, moody Edward. I hope that you enjoyed this little chapter. I'm sorry if I disappointed some of you. I don't mind hinting at intimacy between Edward and Bella, but I'll be keeping that Teen rating firmly in place. **

**Reviewing makes the writer happy… and you don't want the writer mad at you. She'll put Edward back in a coma. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- My apologies. I promised a new chapter yesterday, but I was very sick and had to go to the hospital because of it.**

**Don't worry. I'm fine, dear readers. And so… on with the show! **

**Things are about to change up for our hero and heroine. And don't worry… our beloved Edward won't fall into a coma. **

**Don't forget! I don't own Twilight… or any characters or books published thereafter. I just own the WOE plot and the characters that are created within it. **

Bella's POV

The two days passed so slowly. Every four hours I had to put more of the sleeping medicine into Edward's system. I cringed every time I had to stick him. It was sickening. I'm very glad that I had not volunteered to get my nurses' degree. I never would have made it through.

My only distraction had been a short call from Jacob a few hours after Edward was first asleep. I was usually the one to call, so when I answered my cell phone I was surprised to hear his voice on the other line.

He didn't mince words.

"There were bloodsuckers on our turf. Do you know why?" His voice wasn't cold or contemptuous. He spoke as if he were asking me about the weather in Massachusetts. But the words cut through me. Vampires in Forks again?

"No. We haven't been back to Forks. Ever. You know that." I said, trying to mimic his voice's normal tone. I don't think I pulled it off so well.

"I think they were looking for you. All of you. They wore long grey cloaks and… ugh.. the smell was horrific. Worse than any of your clan could ever smell."

Fear rose up within me.

"Did they threaten you? Or anyone?" I asked.

"No. I think they were simply passing through, on their way to Forks. To the Cullen's. Who are they? Why would they be looking for you?"

This was a story that I hadn't told Jacob. He assumed that I had allowed Edward to bite me because I wanted to be one of them—which was true. But there had been other reasons at the time. The Volturi's insistence. Victoria's vicious vendetta.

So I cliff notes versioned it, sparing him the gory details.

"They're after you! They want to make sure you're a vampire? That is ridiculous!" Jacob scoffed, but the worry in his voice was evident, "But you aren't a—a bloodsucker. Not really. When they that find out, what will happen?"

"Alice saw the Volturi's guard coming to find us. Because their mind tricks don't work on me, Edward thought I would be safer away from the Cullens while the Volturi visited. I figured out a way to keep Edward out of danger as well. So as long as the guard believes that Edward and I are dead, there is no problem." I explained.

"I don't like this." Jacob's voice was dark, "You should have come out here. I could have protected you. Kept you safe, until those leeches were gone."

"And what about Edward, Jacob? Would you have sheltered him as well?" I asked. There was a long silence. I knew he wouldn't even consider it. He hated Edward for taking me away.

"Thank you, Jake, for calling. For telling me about all this. I'm safe, though. And I imagine that once the Volturi's guard is gone, things will go back to normal. Well, as normal as it gets for a half breed." I knew my voice sounded sad. I didn't want Jacob's pity. But I did not want Edward getting between us and the progress that we had made as friends. Jacob was the one that usually put Edward in the middle.

"Alright, call me... if you need anything. Ok?" his voice seemed repentant.

"I will, bye." And then I hung up.

It had worried me for two days. I couldn't contact any of the Cullens and I dared not wake Edward up.

A little after midnight on the second night, Alice called me. The Volturi had gone at twilight. It had worked. I was a little eager to hear about who had come with the group and what had transpired. I had to wait for Edward to wake up first though.

He had given himself the first injection, teaching me where to poke and telling me when to give him more. The entire two days he never so much as stirred. It calmed me to know that his sleeping state had kept him safe, but the entire time I was reminded of those three months that he had been in a coma, his eyes black as the night and wide open the entire time.

It wasn't until four in the morning that he finally roused. I sat on the windowsill, looking out at the moon, when he first moved. His disheveled appearance reminded me of a small child waking up from a night's sleep. His eyes were bleary and his hair was a complete mess. He looked adorable.

"The Volturi are gone?" he managed out, while he was stretching.

"Alice called almost four hours ago to confirm it." I nodded, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"How have the last two days been for you?" he asked, dragging me closer to him, until I laid down on his chest in a familiar pose.

"Pretty dull. I haven't slept much." I shrugged, "Jake called, too, while you were asleep. He said the Volturi had been there."

That made Edward sit up again, bringing me with him.

"Did they cross paths? The Volturi and the wolves?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

"No. As far as I know, they just passed through La Push on their way to Forks. Crossed the boundaries I suppose. He just wanted to call us and warn us." I shrugged, yawning.

"I guess that's nice of him. Even though we already knew they were coming." He sighed and settled us back into the headboard, "So, it's clear for us to go back home?"

"As far as we know. They even waited a while longer so that Alice could watch the guards' future and make sure they had cleared out." I nodded.

We sat like that for a few minutes, Edward's arms wrapped around me. I began to feel very warm and exhausted.

"So you didn't sleep at all?" he murmured, when I snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"Not really."

"Do you want to sleep now? I'll stay right here," he kissed my forehead. But I was already drifting off to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, light from the window of our bedroom brightened the entire room. I smiled sleepily at the familiar dresser and arm chair before snuggling back under the wedding ring quilt that I loved so much.

Then I realized that I was in _our_ bedroom. Back in our farmhouse. On Gregory Road.

"Edward?" I called, sitting up. The clock on the wall said it was past ten. How long had I slept? A whole day? I couldn't have.

I waited, hoping to hear footsteps or noise downstairs or something, but there was nothing to hear. For the millionth time I wished that I had acquired the super sensitive hearing that the rest of the Cullens had.

Then I noticed something odd. The bedroom door was closed. I never slept with the door closed anymore and Edward never closed our door.

I folded myself out of bed and carefully approached the closed portal. When I grabbed the knob to pull it open, it wouldn't budge. Now I was panicked.

Why couldn't I get out?

"EDWARD!" I banged on the door, careful that my strength didn't leave a hole in it. Then I heard a familiar sound. Soft and quiet, yet so sick making that my heart stopped beating for a second.

"Make sure that she doesn't destroy anyone else." It was Jane. Oh my God. It was Jane.

The Volturi were back.

But why? I looked around the room. Nothing was out of place. Our bags were even lying beside the closet doors from our stay at the apartment. Edward must have decided to bring me back here, instead of staying there.

I couldn't finish my line of thinking. The doorknob turned and Edward walked in, with Demetri following close behind.

"Welcome back to the conscious world, half breed." Demetri's voice dripped with disdain. I wasn't paying attention to him, though. I was watching Edward's face. It was carefully smooth. He didn't rush over to me. He didn't try to speak. He just looked back at me, expressionless.

This was Jane's doing. She was threatening Edward with her mind games. I scowled deeply at the vampire behind Edward. I was not in a good mood. And I was not afraid of Demetri. Maybe I _would_ have a chance to practice my protective powers for myself.

"Mad that we outsmarted you?" I scoffed, "I guess we should have waited a little longer. Let you get a little further away, before I let the sleeping pills wear off."

"Why you—" Demetri took a step towards me. Edward's eyes widened. I felt a strange build up within me. Like I had with Noah in the woods.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I folded my arms lithely, leaning against the dresser I stood beside. Demetri snorted, but slipped back in his position behind Edward.

"Bella.." Edward's voice was a warning, "Aro would like for us to come to Italy. They would like to speak with us." His eyes… those green orbs that I loved so much—they were so fearful. So hopeless.

"Where are the others?" I asked, sullenly.

"Waiting downstairs." Edward knew I meant the rest of the family. So we had no choice. We all had to go. Because if all of them were waiting downstairs, it meant that there were many of the Volturi's guard waiting with them.

"Allow me to dress for the trip." I murmured, eyeing Demetri, "Then we can go."

Demetri made no sound, but slipped away, leaving Edward and me alone.

"What is going on? I thought they were gone!" I whispered frantically, when Demetri was out of sight and the door was closed.

"They found an article about our medical practice in one of the local newspapers. They got just outside of my mind reading range and waited for us to come back. It was a set up." His eyes slammed closed, "Now, none of us are safe."

"Do they know what my gift is?" I asked, reaching into the closet and grabbing a pair of comfortable slacks and a loose knit long sleeved shirt.

"Yes. You blew up Felix. _In your sleep_." He frowned, "He rushed into the living room, where I had placed you while I was talking to Carlisle, and before I had time to hear his mind or figure out what was going on, he was charred. Somehow you sensed the danger and your gift blew him up. Carlisle told me that your heart sped up for a minute, but it slowed again, into a normal rhythm. It happened so fast after that—the invasion. I scooped you up and put you in our bed before they got in the house. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry? We thought they were gone!" I changed my clothes as quickly as possible.

"Because this may not have happened if I had just stayed at the apartment, instead of dragging you home so fast." He sighed.

"Are you kidding me? If they had found that article, then they were just going to wait until we came back. We can only do so much to protect ourselves."

"Alice keeps getting mixed visions. Aro, Marcus and Caius are perturbed by our escapade and they are trying to decide what to do with us." He pulled me into an embrace at that moment, "She's seen you chained to walls. And she saw all of them being interviewed by Aro. She's seen us holed up in some over decorated living area in the residential section of castle."

He was editing again. I could tell by his expression. But that time, I'm not sure I wanted to know what Alice was seeing.

"Come on. Jane is growing impatient. They have a plane ready to take all of us back to Italy waiting," Edward led me towards the door, "The only reason any of them are giving us an inch of privacy is because of you. Because of what happened to Felix. They're afraid of you. Afraid of what you're capable of."

**A/N- See? Edward just slept for a LONG time. ;) Don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- My apologies about it taking me so long to put this chapter out. I had to move back to school… which takes days of packing and unpacking. And, of course, in the middle of it all, I was sick. So that doesn't really help either. **

**Look forward to more chapters coming this week. We are really starting to achieve some momentum with the story now. It's going to get really exciting!**

**Don't forget that I don't own Twilight—or any other publication that Stephenie Meyer would happen to put out. **

On the plane, Edward and I were seated in an area where all eyes could be on us. No vampire had been able to hide from the Volturi and they were wary of our deception.

The rest of the family was seated in the row behind us. Periodically, Jasper sent a wave of calm over me. I would have been very edgy otherwise. And that made me potentially dangerous to anyone and everyone.

The entire way there, I kept my eyes glued to Edward. He was zeroing in on Alice's visions. That much I knew for sure. But his expressionless face had frustrated me more than a few times.

At the desolate air strip where we landed a dark tinted limousine waited for us. Just the Cullen clan. I imagined the rest of the guard was going to run. I was glad to have at least some measure of privacy for the ride to Volterra.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, leaning my head on Edward's shoulder once we all were situated in the car.

"For what?" Emmett growled from my other side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed, "It's no one's fault that the Volturi are interested in what you are. Well—if we want to pin blame somewhere, we can pin it on James. But seriously, Bella, this is not your fault."

"No, it's mine." Edward sighed, "If I hadn't allowed you all to talk me into sleeping through the Volturi's visit, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Edward, seriously. Shut up." Emmett used the advantage of having his arm around me to slap Edward upside the head.

"This is getting us nowhere," Jasper rolled his eyes from the other side of the car, "Alice, what have you seen? Most recently."

"Talking to Aro, Marcus and Caius. All of us. Nothing more. It's been like this for hours." She shook her head.

"That's good. That means that they are being reasonable, at least." Carlisle nodded.

"But what if it's a ruse?" Waves of anger were radiating from Edward's person, "What if they have begun to anticipate our actions? What if they've only decided to meet with us because they know if they plan anything else we will already know? They are aware of Alice's gift."

"Edward, dear, calm yourself please. We have always managed to take care of ourselves. Even now." Esme reminded all of us, "The Volturi may be the equivalent of a royal family, but they are peacemakers more than anything. They are probably only thwarted by our actions and want an explanation."

Esme's words were more calming than Jasper could ever have hoped to be. The car was quiet for a few short moments.

"I would rather you speak out loud… than to hear this mess," Edward waved his hand around in the air, clearly frustrated.

"We've already spoken our worries, Edward," Rosalie scowled, "We're just anxious to get there and figure out what's happening. You don't have to listen."

"What is the driver thinking?" Jasper asked, probably more to keep us all occupied than anything. Edward turned his head slightly and his eyebrows scrunched.

"He's human. He's wondering if we're dangerous to him. He's transported many problem vampires. That's what he calls them in his mind. Problem vampires. We're almost there. I can see Volterra in his mind." Edward's voice was monotone. It didn't help the atmosphere.

"Something's changed," Alice's voice suddenly matched Edward's tone. I quickly turned to see Alice's vacant face, "They're splitting us up. Edward and Bella and then the rest of us. It's almost like—they don't recognize them as part of the coven anymore."

"That is ridiculous." Esme's voice was fierce, "They will always be part of the coven."

"They can't decide who is in a coven and who is not," Carlisle spoke, calm as ever. "It is everyone's choice to make. As long as I am the leader of this group, Edward and Bella will always be free to live with us."

"We're here." Alice and Edward said together.

I'm sure that if I'd had any bile, it would have risen in my throat. I didn't want to be separated from the family. We were strong. Maybe that's why they were breaking us up. Because with Edward in once place and Alice in another, there was less of a chance for conspiracy.

I think they were still underestimating my own power, and the fact that Edward was very familiar with Alice's mind. He would probably be able to reach her thoughts without much problem. At least that was still on our side.

I _felt_ Aro's presence when I stepped outside the car. No. It was more than that. My protective instincts seem to fan out to tell me where there was danger. This particular danger was in the form of Aro and his minions standing guard.

"Welcome to Volterra, Clan Cullen," Aro's voice drifted from the shadow's of a large doorway in the back of the city's façade. The limo was situated in a long shadow, protecting my family's skin from sparkling.

"Carlisle, old friend, how are you?" Aro greeted, as if this were a mere social call. His silhouette drifted closer, as if he might want to come forward embrace Carlisle, but then decided against it. By then we were all out of the car, facing the doorway Aro had positioned himself in.

"I am well." Carlisle's voice was formal, "We only wish to have this business over so that we can return back to Massachusetts."

"Oh, of course. If you please. There is only one thing that I ask, while we are still out of doors." Aro stepped closer and I could make out his face and the dark cloak that he wore, "Could Edward please step into the sunlight?"

I heard Edward snort, but he dropped my hand and marched into a patch of sunlight, holding his bare arms out and tipping his face before the sun. He looked like an angel more than ever smiling at the warm rays that played on his face. There was not even a hint of a sparkle left.

I heard Aro gasp. I suddenly realized he hadn't believed whatever report the guard had given him. He hadn't believed that we were half breeds.

"Those are your hearts beating, then?" he asked in astonishment.

"Yes." I stepped towards him, even though I'm sure he could hear the unsteady rhythm. Aro took a step further into the shadows of the doorway. Apparently, he had believed that I blew up Felix.

"Very well. Edward and Bella, I would like for you to come with me and my guard. Marcus and Caius have been waiting for your arrival. Alec will show the rest of you to a sitting room."

Alec materialized from the shadows behind Aro, beckoning to Carlisle and the rest. I looked helplessly up at Edward. He looked as bewildered as I felt. But he was looking at Alice. She must have seen something else. Alec led them all into the dark archway and further into the interior of city.

"Bella, please, whatever you do, keep calm," Edward whispered into my ear as we began to follow Aro and his minions up a flight of stairs. His reminder made me wonder what Alice had seen.

I shuddered when I took my first step up the staircase, remembering the cold underground passageway we had walked through all those years ago. I was suddenly thankful we were going upstairs, instead of falling down into a manhole. Edward wrapped his arm around me protectively. It was a small, comforting gesture that I held onto with every fiber of my being.

"You both have been very busy since I last saw you. I took the liberty of finding out more about your current lifestyle. Edward, you are finally practicing medicine. Such willpower! Or maybe your change has provided the reason that you can practice medicine? And Bella—with two master's degrees in communications and literature!" I smiled wanly at Aro then tuned out as he began babbling about our lives back in Massachusetts. Soon we were turning of the stairs into a windowless corridor.

I was, again, thankful that Edward could not hear my thoughts. It was a rampage. My protective gift seemed to wake up with the mass of vampires around us. And then there was the division of the family. I wondered where the rest had been taken. I was also anxious about all of Alice's visions. And what Edward had seen in Alice's mind before we parted ways.

"….exactly did you try to change her?" Aro's question got my attention.

"Shortly after we graduated high school," Edward's voice was cool and formal.

Aro said no more after that. I could almost sense his wish to touch Edward—to find out what he was really thinking.

My agitation flared. Did they really think they could just order us around like this? Half breed or not, blowing up Felix in my sleep announced that I had a power far greater than we expected. They should be treating me with careful kindness, instead of rude complacency.

Edward's hand squeezed me tighter to him, almost in warning. I glanced up at him and realized that he could feel my petulance in my rigid composure. I forced myself to calm down. To be reasonable. They weren't afraid of me. Of course they weren't. Aro was heavily guarded and so were Marcus and Caius. I would have to blow up twelve to fifteen vampires a piece to even make it to them.

And something told me that if I tried something like that, my heart would give out. I breathed deeply in an act to relieve the tension I felt. As long as Edward was by my side, I could remain calm.

But then we entered that hall. The hall that brought back so many of the nightmares I had as a human. The small woman holding the rosary. The screams. The horror of it all. I gasped.

"Shh." Edward rubbed his hand up and down my arm, trying to calm me. It was too much for me. Deja vu slammed my brain, reminding me of all the awful things that had transpired.

My thin blood ran cold. It was like I was a teenager again. I couldn't speak four languages. I had never obtained my bachelor's and master's degrees. Edward and I weren't married.

I felt like I was hyperventilating. My composure was shot. I pressed my face in Edward's shoulder to keep from screaming.

I couldn't help myself. It was like everything was crashing into me all at the same time.

We stopped walking.

"Bella," Edward's voice penetrated through my attack.

"What's wrong with her?" Aro asked, several feet away, separate from us by his guard.

"This hall holds many memories for Bella. Many _unpleasant_ memories." I focused on Edward's voice, "It is possible that she repressed them… and reentering this place is making her over-sensitive." He sounded angry. Somewhere within me I recognized that he was just as mad as I was.

I could either throw a pity party for myself and wallow, or I could use my emotions. Allow them to strengthen my mind and my purpose. I took a deep breath and looked into Edward's concerned face.

"I'm fine." I set my mouth into a determined line and scowled at Aro over Edward's shoulder. Aro actually had the nerve to smile. His haughty attitude only fueled my fire.

"Bella, you will not be allowed into our meeting room if you cannot control yourself," Aro's voice was a warning.

"I'm fine," I said louder, standing up straight and even stepping away from Edward.

"That's fine, my dear," Aro turned to enter one of the golden doors to the left of us, his guard following fluidly behind him.

Edward sent a reassuring smile my way as we entered the room hand in hand. This room was less stifling than the turret room that we had been guests in the last time. There were still no windows, but instead of throne like chairs and stone walls, the room was dry-walled and painted a deep red. A table stood in the center and three chairs were situated behind it. More of a conference room than anything, if I had to guess.

Marcus and Caius sat behind the table, waiting for Aro to join them.

"You should see Edward in the sun! Completely normal! It's unbelievable," Aro's delighted composure returned as he addressed his brothers. Marcus and Caius, again, did not share in their brother's enthusiasm.

"Please, have a seat," Caius motioned to two straight back chairs situated against the wall. As Edward and I sat down, the guard situated themselves around the three brothers.

"You will imagine our surprise when we heard that you were both dead," Marcus addressed us, not waiting for pleasantries, "Especially since Aro was so sure that Edward would not kill you, Bella. When we heard that he lost control during your change and then gave himself over to a pack of wolves, we were very skeptical."

"Then Jane contacts us again, reporting that you both were alive and Felix had been blown to pieces in your front living room." Caius frowned, "And the only person around was a sleeping Bella. Now you sit here. You have beating hearts and your skin does not sparkle. I think we need a proper explanation."

"Yes," Aro nodded, his hands folded in an elated gesture, "Please, regale us with your stories."

I looked over at Edward. He seemed to be gauging their minds. He blinked in a way only I would know was frustration. Reading his face had become second nature for me and I had a feeling the Volturi were blocking Edward's mind reading.

"It was after graduation," Edward began, seeming resigned to do what they wanted. As he began telling our story, I was pulled in by the intricacies, hoping that I would remember how he was telling it. So I could write it down in the same way. His point of view was more interesting to me than my own, because it was new, fresh perspective.

That is, if we made it out of here. 

**A/N- Get ready for Edward's POV. He's next. **

**And reviews are muy important now. I'm at school, where homework will rival everything else. Comprende? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- I'm continuing this trend… in which I only post a chapter every few days. I just realized how much more difficult it is to really write at school. There are far too many distractions. Especially living in a dorm!**

**Hopefully, this weekend (when I go home) I'll be able to tap down another chapter or two, but they are slow in coming now. **

**Here is the long awaited Edward chapter. This one is quite a bit longer than other Edward chapters…. Imagine that. **

**Don't forget that I don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse… or anything else associated with it. I'm not Stephenie Meyers, dang it. **

Edward's POV

It's difficult to tell a story and get so involved that you get lost in the very intricacies. I hadn't had much practice. That much was for sure. And it was even more difficult when there were so many thoughts creating a loud din in my mind. But if I could take myself away from the present situation and focus on our history—mine and Bella's—then I might be able to prolong anything from happening. Anything potential dangerous.

My subconscious would just have to take notes on the minds around me.

I focused on Bella's face. She stared intently at me, probably hoping she could get lost in the story, as well. It would probably keep her calmer.

"It was after graduation." I began, "When we first returned home from Italy, Bella and Carlisle had struck up a deal that she would graduate from high school first and then he would change her. I would not do it myself, more because I had an aversion to the eternal damnation our souls are bound for. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give Bella what she wanted. She wanted me to change her. And so on the night we had planned to change her, I volunteered instead."

My gaze pulled away from Bella's face for a moment, connecting with Aro's focused eyes. His mind told me that he was delightfully interested in the story, but nothing more.

"It was the most difficult decision of my life because I knew her blood was the sweetest taste I had ever known," I reached for Bella's hand, "_La Tua Cantante_. But something went wrong. When I first sunk my teeth in, it was the most wonderful taste in the world. It was not a prolonged satiation. Only seconds later I was overcome with a pain like fire. It took over my entire body. This is much worse than when you are changed. And I fell into a black abyss. I knew nothing for almost three months."

I paused. The difficult part was trying to explain the change in me, without completely revealing all the frightening emotions that raged within me during the first few weeks of my hybrid living. The mind reading was distracting me as well. Multi-tasking had been so much easier when I had been a full vampire.

"How did you wake up, then?" Aro asked, trying to prompt me.

"Bella's initiative. Once we had moved to our transitional house in Canada, she began searching for answers. She even left me a few times to see if she could find anything out. She went to universities and large libraries until she came across an Egyptian legend. A goddess named Pherona who resurrected the dead with a mere touch. Something clicked in her mind—something prompted her to liken the legend to human medicine. Pherona's touch was somewhat similar to the concept of a human defibrillator. A defibrillator is used to restart a human heart after it stops beating, to keep the human alive. And so, with reluctance, they tried that—because they could think of nothing else."

Bella squeezed my hand and gave me a small, encouraging smile.

"You see, before we tried to change her, Bella had already been bitten by a vampire named James. You must recall our memories of that, Aro?" I reminded him, and suddenly I was seeing my own memory mirrored back in his mind, "Yes, so apparently, even though I sucked out the venom, there was still a miniscule drop left in her system. Enough that, over time, Bella's blood became immune to it. That's the part that is modern human medicine. The idea that a human is likely to develop an immunity to anything, if they are given small, insignificant doses of the substance." Marcus, Caius and Aro were skeptical. Their thoughts told me as much. But I continued. It was important that they know what we knew.

"The theory breaks down there. Because obviously, Bella did indeed change. She matches us in strength and sight and her gift… well… you know her gift."

"The important thing is that I woke up, but I was changed. My strength is still astronomical. My mind reading hasn't weakened. I am still the fastest runner in the coven. I've just downgraded. No blood lust. No sparkling. My hearing and sense of smell has weakened, as well." I felt like that was the end of the story. They didn't need to know how we chased around renegade vampires, allying ourselves with werewolves and the like.

The Volturi stared at me—at us. Their minds were raging with questions. Questions that I often wondered myself. _How could it be? Is it even possible? What caused this? How? _

"Bella, how did you know that using a defibrillator on Edward would work?" Caius finally spoke.

"I didn't know. But we had tried everything else." Bella shrugged, "Even surrounded by family members with medical degrees I only know so much. And we are not governed by many of the human laws of medicine."

There was another long pause from the three in front of us. And then I heard the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Why did you blow up Felix, Bella?" Aro delivered this question, sounding more like a parent's scolding than a harsh reprimand. "Did he do something to provoke it? Or did you just feel like it?"

"Aro," Bella stood, dropping my hand, "I was asleep. I don't even remember it happening. I have only used my gift twice besides this time."

"Why not?" Marcus blurted. I barely heard the thought before it came out.

"Why NOT?!?" Bella's voice was incredulous.

Apparently, raising her voice felt like a threat to the guard because three stepped toward her. Besides the fervor of the guard's minds, ready to protect at will, I felt a sudden rise in the pressure around us and realized Bella's protective instinct had kicked in.

"You'll please keep your guard away from me, Aro," Bella's voice was soft, but still warning, "I did not wish to kill Felix and I do not wish to hurt anyone else. This is a curse more than a gift because as much as we vampires have God complexes, choosing who should live and who should die, it is possible that I could have the worst complex of us all. Because I can torch any one of you with the slightest note of danger."

"And you would dare to?" Caius regarded Bella. His mind was completely focused on her.

"As I said before, it's out of my control." She shrugged nonchalantly. She sat back down in her chair and examined her nails, as if she were waiting for someone to try something.

I wasn't sure how good it was that Bella was acting so arrogant. I _was_ sure, however, that standing up to the Volturi was not a way to get in their good graces. Then again, they had wanted Alice and me to join them. Even after my almost disobedient suicidal act.

"Edward," Aro turned his attention back to me, "How do you survive? If not by blood, then what?"

I could see that he was truly interested. I was, too, for that matter.

"Water. It's more of a nuisance than anything. But it keeps our weak blood flowing through our veins and heart. I've concluded that the only real reason that we even need it is because after a while water dissolves in our body, coming out of pores and tear ducts and the like. We can usually judge when we need more, by the amount of sleep we're getting."

"Sleep?" Marcus frowned, "My apologies. I just cannot wrap my mind around the idea that _you_ can sleep. It's almost ludicrous."

"It was odd to me at first," I nodded, "But even after trying to stay up for days and nights on end as I was accustomed to, I just ended up sleeping that much longer."

"Well, in light of all these things," Aro seemed to be ending our session, "I must say that you are a potentially interesting pair of creatures." And then I heard the words that would be spoken only for Bella's sake.

"But we're not sure that it is fitting that you be a part of the Cullen coven."

**A/B- Dun dun dun. A small cliffie. Just a small one. As momentum picks up… there shall be more. But, if you want chapter 11… show me the reviews! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- I just realized that I won't have time to write this weekend. Silly me. So… I decided to go ahead and put together this chapter. Ease your minds a little, readers. **

**Don't get too comfortable though.**

**I don't own Twilight. I just like borrowing its characters. **

Bella's POV

My disposition went from disinterested to white hot anger in only a matter of seconds. I stood--scrambled really—to my feet and felt the almost familiar pressure building up around me in an even larger proportion.

The Volturi guard tightened around us a little more. Something within me tensed up. The pressure was great. I felt Edward stand up. He must have been feeling the pressure as well.

I took a moment to try to control it. To see if I could control it. I closed my eyes and focused on reigning it in. I focused on the pressure, instead of the alert that told me there were fifteen Volturi guards surrounding us.

And it worked. Something clicked within me. Something I hadn't ever tried before. The alarming vibes that I felt in the air around me began to work synonymously with the seeming pressure that usually exploded out of me and into the object causing my alarm. And it seemed as if I suddenly had it under control. Like instead of having to worry about hurting someone, I could use it. As long as I found that center. Focused on the pressure instead of the fear.

I was suddenly thankful. None of the family had caused the protective vibes to flare up within me. But that could be because they weren't thinking of me as a threat. They saw me as Bella. Edward's wife. Sister. Daughter. The Volturi had probably branded me something with a negative connotation. Something much worse than "half breed."

All of this happened in the space of seconds. I was finally in control.

And no one else knew.

"Why do you think we would ever break away from Carlisle? From Esme?" I suddenly growled, allowing myself to put on an indignant front, "To what? To have to live away from our loved ones? Our family? You can't tell us what coven we have to be in."

"Oh… dear Bella. We weren't telling you what coven to be in." Aro's voice took on that saccharine tone again, "We only meant that you might stay here with us."

"We also have an old friend, Seamus, who we want to call up," Caius interjected, "We believe he would shed some important light on the situation."

I almost gasped. Edward squeezed the hand he was holding, keeping me silent. I wondered what was on his mind, but knew enough to keep from speaking or even looking his way.

"And if we decline?" Edward asked.

"Well, of course, we couldn't necessarily keep you here," Marcus shrugged indifferently,

"But if you cooperate, you might actually have a life outside of these walls someday. It would be a shame if I had to send guards back to Massachusetts with you. Or anywhere else that you might move. And I imagine that you wouldn't want to submit your precious family to the same treatment."

I waited. I felt the need to stand still. To keep myself in balance. But the information that I was taking in was beginning to make my head spin. My imagination ran wild as I envisioned guards always being posted at our front and back doors. Lurking in the wilderness wherever we were. Following us to work. To school. Feeding.

"And you just want—this Seamus to check us out? To see if he can find any new information?" Edward tried to clarify, all the while playing like we hadn't already seen Seamus.

"Yes. That is all," Caius confirmed, "No tricks. You allow Seamus to check both of you out and then we can discuss what he finds. Seamus was a Druid witch doctor who was changed. His healing gift was carried over from his human life. He could be an amazing human healer, but he is tentative and, of course, many humans are afraid of him. But since you are seemingly half human, he may be able to check you out and tell us things that Carlisle cannot."

"May I have a moment? To speak with Bella?" Edward motioned towards the door.

"As you wish," Aro nodded. Edward made quick work of getting us outside and closing the door, banishing all Volturi eyes. That was something at least.

"Your gift… is becoming very strong." He placed a hand on my face, "I can feel the pressure radiating from you."

"Focus," I forced a laugh out, trying not to sound too hysterical. It was taking all my strength to keep focus on the pressure, "Find Alice's mind."

He made a face at me that was a cross between annoyance and understanding, but then faced the direction he believed our family was in. For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't find her. She couldn't be more than a hundred yards or so away, but there were probably many minds between them.

"It looks good," he finally nodded, not willing to elaborate with vampire ears so close, "How are you feeling?" I knew exactly what he was asking. He was asking if I thought I could take being surrounded by vampires for so long like this.

"Ok." I nodded.

"So, we'll stay." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead, before reaching for the door.

"We are glad you are going to cooperate. Such talent should not be wasted," Aro's sickening smile was firmly in place as we walked back in, "Henry will show you to your family."

Henry stepped out of the ranks of guard around Aro, Marcus and Caius. I wouldn't have noticed him, except that he had a very young face. A teenager's face. But so much younger than Edward. His hair framed his face in an unruly curled style that had been popular . His bone structure, even though angular and beautiful, was still seemingly half formed. Youthful without really meaning to look like it. His eyes told me he wasn't a newborn… or anywhere close. They were a stagnant red. Almost tired looking.

There was something about him—some feeling that I was getting. It was a combination of my protective instinct and my own first impression. Contradictory. The protective side of me was telling me that he was a very dangerous creature. But he looked so—young and seemingly polite.

"Are you new?" I asked. It was a completely involuntary reaction. I was just so curious.

"I have only been with the Volturi for ten years." He confirmed as he led us away from that horrid corridor and towards the same set of elevators that had once freed Edward, Alice and me of the Volturi's grasp. His voice was velvet. A beautiful tenor that seemed incongruous to his youthful appearance.

I nodded, realizing that his admittance into the royal coven must have been because of his gift. Something that could be particularly useful. I wondered what Edward was pilfering from Henry's thoughts. I hoped it would be constructive information. Maybe a way to understand why he had been selected to take us back to the Cullens.

Once off the elevators, Henry led us down another nondescript hall, lined with doors to the left and right of us. We stopped at the door at the end of the hall.

"You will wait here until Seamus has come." Henry opened the door and then disappeared back down the hall we'd come from.

I was glad to step into Esme's waiting arms. She embraced both Edward and me, speaking so quickly I could barely understand. She had been worried. Admittedly, I had been, too. But as soon as Henry was gone, the pressure eased. My mind did not have to remain constantly on controlling myself.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked, when Esme finally let us go.

"They just asked us a bunch of questions about how this all happened," Edward gestured towards his own body, indicating the Volturi's interest in our half breed forms, "And then wanted to know why Bella blew up Felix. They want us to stay and be checked out by a Druid doctor turned vampire named Seamus."

Everyone nodded. Alice must have already filled them in, but what Carlisle wanted to know—what everyone wanted to know—only Edward could tell. Because he had, more than likely, been reading the minds of the Volturi and Volturi guard the entire time.

"Bella, is that pressure coming from you?" Jasper asked. I suddenly realized that he could probably feel it.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Can I do anything to help?" he asked. He stepped closer and I felt a small soothing wave of calm. But it dispersed as quickly as it came.

"Its worse when the Volturi and their guard were around us. I don't think that your calm will work on me as it once did." My eyes flashed towards Edward, "What were they thinking?"

"I really do not wish to _discuss_ that," Edward nodded towards a desk in the large sitting area. I smiled at him in understanding. Everyone else seemed to catch his subtle hint as well.

Edward swiftly sat down and began writing furiously on the small sheets of paper that were on top of the desk. He would pass a page to Carlisle as soon as he was finished with it. I was amazed at how much he had managed to take in. He had seemed to be so focused on answering the Volturi's questions.

Soon the pages were being passed down the line, so everyone could read Edward's elegant script.

_Aro, Marcus and Caius tried to keep their minds heavily guarded. They have not had much practice, though, so I did manage to catch some of their plans. _

_They do want us to see Seamus (and we let them think we did not know him) but they are stalling us more than anything. They want some of us to stay. Alice, Bella, and me especially. They feel threatened with the eight of us together. They think we're powerful and that we might rise up and try to overthrow their rule someday. _

_Marcus is especially worried, because of his ability to sense the strength or weakness of relationships. Our coven's relationships are very substantial. Solid. Strong. It frightens him to know that we all live in harmony so well together. _

_Paired with the fact that there are three very powerful beings in the coven (Alice, Bella and I) they believe they have due cause to be concerned. And so they are trying to find ways to keep us here. To stall us._

_They are also trying to keep Bella and me from being part of this coven. Even though she and I are considered powerful, we are also weaker, because we are hybrids. They think that Bella and I should keep to a coven by ourselves because we don't hunt at all. Our lifestyles are somewhat different. _

_I believe that are just trying to break the coven apart so that we won't be as much of a threat. _

_Their guards, on the other hand, were a different story. They see Bella and me as weaklings. They think that it would be easy to just kill us and get it over with. They didn't even seem to care that Bella had blown Felix up. They thought it was a fluke and that Felix was a little too cocky anyways. _

_Most of the guard has some tracking power or another. There was only one that I could not identify. Henry. The guard that brought us here. He thought the same things the other guard did, but if he has a special gift (which is more than likely the case if he's part of the Volturi guard) I did not see it. I even tried to further read him, as he brought us down here, but it was difficult. _

_I think our best action is to cooperate for now. As far as Alice can see, they have not decided to proactively pursue breaking the coven up. But they want to. They do not wish to be threatened by our numbers._

Edward stood from the desk as soon as he was finished writing. Carlisle seemed to be asking Edward questions in his mind, which Edward always responded with a nod or shake of his head.

The rest were all milling around. I wondered what they thought about this. Was it selfish to try to stay in Carlisle's coven? Would it be better for all of them if we broke away?

Apparently, Edward thought the same thing. I heard him whisper quietly to Carlisle and then Carlisle seemed to get very angry.

"How could you even think that? You will always be part of this family. You and Bella can break away any time you wish, like Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice do. But you will not--I repeat--will not leave us because the Volturi want you to. I will not even allow it."

Esme sent a hurt expression Edward's way, as if even thinking of breaking away from the coven was blasphemy to her.

"I don't know why you have to create more drama than is necessary," Rosalie rolled her eyes from her motionless pose against the north wall of the room, "You know that none of us will ever allow you to even think of leaving us permanently. It's ludicrous."

"But you are stuck here until we are free. If we broke away, at least you all could be back in Massachusetts." Edward pointed out.

"Worrying about you and Bella." Jasper snorted, "Wondering what was happening and having to rely on Alice's visions to tell us anything. It's not fair of you to ask us to go through something like that thousands of miles away, when we could be right here, where Alice can keep tabs on everyone. Where we can actually see you both with our own eyes. Know that you aren't in any danger."

"Forget it, bro," Emmett shook his head, "You are not getting us to go anywhere. You've been a part of this coven far longer than the rest of us. You'll stay that way."

"Edward," I stepped over to lay a hand on his arm. His green eyes held a piercing gaze and I smiled because it was a beautiful sight, "You are going to have to quit being a martyr. I could easily be one with you, but I know how much it would hurt Esme and Carlisle if we had to break away. I know how much all of our brothers and sisters would miss us. How offended they are that you would even suggest that we go our separate ways. We are not going to get rid of them as easily as you think you can. They're just as stubborn as you and me, sometimes."

His mouth formed a grim line, studying my face. He knew I was right. I could see it in his eyes. We had all fought far too much to be together. All of us. From the first time I laid eyes on Edward until that very moment.

"Then I suppose we wait for Seamus." Edward acquiesced, reluctantly.

**Author's Note:**

"**A hearty welcome back to Seamus. Congratulations on making the final cut for the last story in the series!" I smiled, standing next to my very own vampire.**

"_**I am always pleased to be back in the trenches with the Cullen family. They are so easy to get along with." **_**Seamus nods to me obligingly, **_**"Although, you aren't very safe with Edward and Bella. Can you not give them a little break?"**_

**I scoffed. **

"**Where is the fun in that? If I ever gave them a break, we'd be watching two half breeds over a picket fence. That is not exciting at all." I shook my head at the idea. **

"_**Ah, but it is safer for everyone. And I would have to take fewer trips away from my home place in Ireland."**_

**Seamus Irish brogue seemed to become more evident. How very attractive. I almost got lost in his golden gaze. **

"**Well, thank you Seamus, for being our topic of discussion here in the author's note." **

"_**Always happy to help out the author. As long as there's a happy ending." **_** His smile was teasing. And mesmerizing. **

"**We'll see." I shrugged, "But until then, readers… don't forget. Reviewing doesn't involve watching movies over and over again. Let me hear some noise if you want the next chapter." **

**Seamus and I waved goodbye before walking off the page. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N-This weekend I went back through and read the entire series… I'm astonished by how much I didn't remember happening. The small things, you know. Like what happened at Charlie's funeral. Or that Emmett fought with Bella in WOE about how she wanted to leave. **

**I hope this chapter will hold you guys over. I have a few more things to add to chapter 12… and then it will be posted as well. **

**As usual, I don't own the Twilight series. I only borrow…**

Seamus was a little harder to find than usual, it seemed. When the Volturi realized it was going to take longer than they expected they moved us from our small sitting room/holding cell to a larger living area where they presumed we would be more comfortable. We waited for almost two days.

I was disgusted by whatever decorator had seen fit to make everything red. Couches, draperies—even though there were no windows—carpets, wall paper. All in a rich red color that reminded me of blood.

Emmett and Jasper were happy to find a TV with video game hook ups and 500 channels of sports, reality TV and Italian soap operas. The first five minutes of Emmett trying to translate the Italian dramas was entertaining, but afterwards, it was just irritating.

The rest of the Cullens perfected their statuesque composure, but sitting did me no good. There were no windows to look out of. No sights or unfamiliar sounds to keep me occupied. All the vampires moving around below and above us kept my system on alert. That alone made me even more anxious than normal.

Edward became more concerned as the hours grew longer. I still didn't sleep. He tried to convince me to rest with him on a couch in a quieter corner of the room, but as soon as I laid down that pressure that instinctively wrapped around us like a force field made both of us very uncomfortable. I finally convinced him that he should try to sleep and let me move to the other side of the room.

I began to worry that Seamus would not understand and foil the charade that we had created. I imagined that as soon as the Cullen name was mentioned, he would immediately latch on to familiarity and blow our cover. I wanted to protect Seamus more than anything. Keep him from being pulled into the mess that we were all in, for better or worse. He had been so helpful to us. So kind.

I managed not to mention this though. We all had enough to be concerned about.

Henry came to announce Seamus' arrival. I was again struck by how young Henry seemed. It wasn't the mesmerizing effect that Edward had once had on me. I wasn't attracted to Henry in any way. I was just… stunned by his appearance. So strange.

When Seamus showed up without an ounce of recognition on his face, I knew he understood and had played along with the little charade. I was glad.

"They are preparing a room for me right now so that I can monitor the both of you. It's taking some time to gather everything together," Seamus said in his best doctor's voice, then turned his attention to the hovering vampire behind him, "Henry, I'm fine. I'm just going to do a little bit of doctor to patient questioning. Trying to understand the severity of the situation. Please go check and see if they are having luck finding heart monitors and everything else I put on the list."

Henry nodded, like an obedient child, and left, closing the door behind him.

"What have you two gotten into now?" Seamus whispered to us as quietly as possible. We all sat around him on couches and chairs. The TV and video games had been abandoned when Seamus' arrival was first announced.

"We made the mistake of trying to hide from the Volturi." I whispered back, as softly as possible, "The trackers rely on our minds to find our whereabouts. My brain is closed to all mind games, but Edward's is susceptible. We realized that if he was asleep—if we kept him asleep—he would be undetectable as well. So we hid ourselves in the suburbs of Boston, while the Volturi went to the small town we live in. They came and left in a matter of 48 hours, but when we went back, we were ambushed. They hadn't believed that Edward and I were dead. I blew up one of the Volturi guard in my sleep. And… now we're here."

"They didn't—try anything funny did they?" There was a protective edge to Seamus' voice. Something that both pleased and annoyed me at the same time. A mixture of male ego and protectiveness… as if I wasn't surrounded by male ego and a protective bubble all the time.

"No." I shook my head.

"You're… radiating pressure." He began using his normal calm voice. "Why?"

"I think it's because of all the vampire activity around us. My gift didn't become so intense until the Volturi began to come around us. I think I felt a little of it—"I lowered my voice again, "when I first met you. The fear. The protectiveness. I didn't know what it was and Carlisle didn't seem to detect it. You made me feel at ease at once, so the feeling went away."

"And around your family? They are all vampires."

"But I've always felt at ease around them." I reminded.

"Ok." Seamus turned to Edward, "What's going on with you?"

"I'm a hybrid. I have been for almost twenty years. There's nothing going on." Edward shook his head calmly.

"So it's just you having strange reactions, then? Imagine that." There was a sarcastic edge to his voice as he studied me, "Well, I'm not sure what_ I_ can do." He placed his hand on my arm and I felt a small tingle from the contact. It wasn't an attracted tingle. It was the tingle I had felt when he had tried to heal me the first time. It was a searching presence in my body, trying to find something that needed healing.

"Nothing." He shook his head, "My medicine does us no good with you two either." He reached over to place a hand on Edward's arm as well, but with a shake of his head broke the contact once again.

"So what is your plan?" Seamus sounded conspiratorial. I was thankful he was on our side.

"Well, we allow you to run tests on us," Edward rolled his eyes in disdain, "And then once you give the Volturi a report, we will discuss the terms of our release. I believe that when they let Alice, Bella and I go those years ago, they didn't realize what an asset Bella would be. The power to incinerate other vampires is not common. They don't want her to leave. I believe that they would like for both of us to stay."

"But, of course, you don't want to be separated from your family." Seamus nodded in understanding.

I suddenly wondered if he had ever even been part of a coven. I reminded myself quickly that there were few covens that were together because they choose the family atmosphere. Usually traveling with a mate or in threes was merely convenient.

"I don't know why I didn't expect it, but you both look so well," Seamus beamed, looking between Edward and me, "I had wondered if—because of your weaker structures—you wouldn't be frailer beings than the rest of us. Consider, the reason why we're so indestructible is our hard, armored skin. The skin that sparkles from that armor when yours does not. I am glad to see you so well. Still so young."

"So, what exactly are you going to do with us?" I asked, anxious to know. To be ready.

"Much of the same thing we did all those years ago. Just being able to have results to show to the Volturi. Your blood is the most amazing thing, Bella. I'm not sure that it will still hold the same qualities as it did when you were first changed, but I'm optimistic." Seamus nodded seeming at ease.

Edward suddenly stiffened. Panic blazed in his eyes. At the same time, the door to the living area flew open and Henry stormed in. I wondered if he wasn't our permanent jailer.

"What do you mean, all those years ago?" Henry asked. I cursed vampires and their super sensitive hearing. How were we ever going to get out of here if our conspiracies continued to blow up in our faces? Why were we not more cautious?

"We've known Seamus for some time," Carlisle said, trying to calm the raging vampire. I caught a glimpse of Jasper's pained face. Henry must have been radiating leaping flames of anger.

"Why do you Cullens always cause so much trouble?" Jane glided lithely into the room and scowled severely. I had hoped we'd seen the last of her when we left the plane. Obviously not.

"Only because you Volturi rise to the occasion." I spat. Jane omitted a very violent response from me. She must have been able to feel the pressure that was probably rolling off of me, because she moved several glides backwards. Her perfect façade remained in place, though.

"Henry, go find Aro, Marcus and Caius and tell them what our guests have been up to. I will remain here." Jane snarled at me.

I felt Edward wrap an arm around my waist, trying to soothe me. I took a moment and reigned in the pressure. It made me so tired, always having to worry about it. When I sensed I had gathered in all that I could, I leaned heavily against Edward, feeling drained.

"You should have tried to sleep," Edward murmured into my ear. All I could do was nod against his shoulder.

Soon enough, the Volturi were filing into the sitting room. The pressure began to become greater as the guard surrounded us. I tried to focus on conversation. Thinking about the protective fear that rose up within me only agitated it.

"Why did you continue to insist on defying us?" Caius asked, clearly aggravated, "Protecting each other like you have many secrets to keep. It just tries our patience."

"We are to have no privacy anymore?" Edward's voice was dark, "Are we suddenly lower class citizens because we no longer thirst for blood and we no longer have to hide our skin from public sunlight?"

"You speak of privacy, as if you give us any." Marcus scowled, "But you pick our brains without our consent. Why should we give you any special treatment?"

"This has gotten too far out of hand." Aro muttered, "You act as if we were the enemy. You both are more vampire than you are human. Why is it so difficult to understand that?"

"Therein lies the problem." Carlisle spoke for us, "We do not hole ourselves up in a castle. We try to be in the human world. We do not… feed on people. We sustain ourselves much the same way a human sustains themselves. We know we are vampires. We cannot do anything about that. But we try—I stress the word try—to come as close as we possibly can to being humane."

I was stunned. Marcus, Caius and Aro were as well. In fact, the entire room was silent—motionless.

"It seems as though we are at an impasse." Aro's voice was ice cold. I had never heard him sound so callous, "Because it seems that none of you can fully cooperate with us. Even Seamus. One of our oldest acquaintances."

"My allegiance is with no one," Seamus reminded, "I exist for myself. I help when I see fit. Did I not come with you here to Volterra?"

"But you were briefed on the situation and showed no recognition of the Cullen name." Caius accused.

"Truthfully? I wanted to protect Bella." Seamus admitted, "She and Edward have been through so much, I thought if I came down and did all your tests, you would be satisfied and let them go."

"And what does Edward think about your attachment?" Marcus asked. I wondered just exactly what Marcus saw in the relationship between Seamus and me.

"We have long ironed out that complication," Edward said, tightening his hold on me, "Seamus is our friend and will remain that way, whether he had protected us or not. He has been a great asset to this family."

"Such alliances are dangerous." Marcus muttered, "And they have to be destroyed."

**A/N- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Cliffhanger. Hey… you know what would help you get over this cliffie? A review! Come on. You know you want to. Just REVIEW! **

**And don't forget… we have an Edward chapter next. HOORAY!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- The long awaited Edward chapter has arrived. I hope it was worth the wait.**

**I don't own Twilight… sheesh.. you think I would be posting here if I did?**

Edward's POV

This was madness. Complete and utter madness. I stared balefully at Bella, who was seated across the room in an ornate looking wing-backed chair. We had been placed in yet another room. Away from the family. Away from Seamus. And we hadn't seen anyone for hours.

Bella hadn't said a word the entire time.

It was shock. I could see it clearly on her face. We had been through a lifetime's worth of distress in the last few days.

And I felt totally helpless.

Completely.

I think I would have preferred her in a crying fit. Or an angry tirade. Anything besides this motionlessness that seemed to consume her.

And the pressure. I knew there were at least four Volturi guards at all times posted at our door, but Bella's gift—curse rather—was in overdrive.

I had been seated closer to her earlier. But I think she was so panicked that the pressure just kept growing. So I casually moved a little further away. I couldn't think straight with that pressure surrounding me. Although, that might have been preferable to all the clatter going on in my head.

It had been seven hours since we had been divided once again. I was surprised that Bella and I were allowed to stay together. I wondered if the Volturi had broken all of us up into pairs.

I hadn't been able to locate most of the family's minds. I could hear Emmett, seething. Unhappy because Carlisle had told him not to fight. And I could just barely hear Esme, calmly speaking to me in her mind. Assuring me that she and Carlisle we alright. But the few times I had tried to reach Alice's mind, it seemed to be right on the rim of my detection. Like they had moved her to the furthest part of the city, so that I would have several minds to wade through in order to find her.

"Edward," Bella's voice snapped me away from my attempts. I moved closer to her, with caution. She didn't seem distraught or anxious. Just far away.

"What is it?" I asked, moving to sit on the couch across from her chair. I wanted so badly to reach for her, but I didn't know how she would react. I felt an age old deja vu. Worrying about whether Bella would respond poorly to my touch.

"How did we get here?" her stare was vacant, as if she were looking past me, "Why is this happening?"

I knew she wasn't asking about how we actually got to Italy. Or how we managed to find ourselves in this room. Or any other room in Volterra. She was asking how our lives had gotten so turned around.

She sounded so hopeless and I suddenly felt out of my league. In the space of a second, I was the one sitting in the wing-backed chair, cradling Bella. It didn't matter that the pressure seemed to press in on me. I had to hold her. Had to touch her. We were each others' foundation, and I felt great shame at having distanced myself from her for any space of time.

"Bella," I breathed, trying to think of how to ease her mind. How was I supposed to answer such a heart wrenching question, when I was so unsure myself?

I looked down into her eyes. Those beautiful chocolate brown depths. And I wanted to weep. This was the woman that I so passionately fought for all those years ago. The woman I fought for today. That I would fight for until the end of time.

We weren't trapped because of mind reading powers or fortune telling vampires. We were there because Bella blew up Felix. And the Volturi either wanted Bella to join them, or quite possibly die. Her gift was too much for them. If they could obliterate obstinate vampires with a flick of Bella's wrist, they would be able to control the entire vampire population, down to the last slum lord in South America. And she was such a fine prospect to add to their collection that they would do anything to keep her. Even keep her holed up in intrusive, overdressed lounges, meant for guests. Not prisoners.

"We are too much for them," I finally whispered, not sure how to explain without scaring her more, "You—you are too much for them. They see your gift as an asset that they will not let slip through their fingers. They are thwarted because we're being so inflexible. That we don't want to be part of the most powerful coven. They are also worried that if we were all to go back to being together, that sometime in the future we'll decide that we want to be the ruling coven. Even though we've expressed our disdain at the idea several times."

"And if—even after all of this—we still don't choose to stay?" Her voice was becoming less detached. Her eyes were more alert.

"They are going to try to destroy us."

I felt a fresh wave of pressure as I allowed the words to sink into Bella's mind. It was rather uncomfortable, but I it reminded me of something.

"Tell me why the pressure around you becomes more and less. Is there something you've opted not to share?" I smirked down at her, trying to convey that I was not angry, merely curious.

"I have control of it now, for the most part." She sighed. I had thought as much. I believe if it happened anywhere, it happened while we were in the meeting room with the Volturi. Something in the air changed. A subtle difference.

"Do you mean you think that you have control over the annihilation factor, or do you think you have control of the fear?" I prompted, hoping she would share more. Anything to keep that vacant look out of her eyes.

"A little of both," she nodded, "It's like—I have to focus on the pressure. Because if I focus on the fear, it becomes too much, especially with all of the Volturi around. I'm able to reign in the pressure, too. I think that if I let go completely, I would blow up someone. At least while we're here."

"Promise me something." I gathered her closer to me, breathing in the soft scent I had become so used to, "Promise me that you will only use this gift in the direst of situations. I am still afraid that your heart cannot handle stress of this magnitude. And there is no promise that you'll heal yourself again."

She stared at me for a long time. Longer than I liked because it meant that she was just considering it. And then she smiled and my heart skipped a beat. She was so beautiful. I couldn't help but think it, even in these dangerous times.

"Thank you, for always being so worried about me," she took my hands in hers, and began twiddling with our fingers, "I know that if something frightens me, I won't be able to stop myself, but I promise, as long as I'm in control, I will try not to obliterate anyone."

"That's all I ask." I nodded solemnly. I was so fearful for her. So afraid that at any moment I could lose her.

"Edward?" Bella shifted so she could sit up, "What is our family thinking? Where are they?"

"Far away. I don't know where. I just know that the only minds I have been able to reach were Esme and Emmett. Alice's mind is right on the edge of my radar. I can just hear it, but it's not strong enough for me to hold onto." I admitted.

"And Seamus? Have you located him at all?" she asked.

"His mind is too unfamiliar to me. Wherever they've placed him, I can't seem to find his mind either. I only know that Emmett is angry that we aren't fighting by now and Esme has assured me that they are all ok."

"Why must everything be so complicated for us?" she sighed, burying her face into my shoulder.

"I don't know," I murmured, closing my eyes. I felt guilty. An aged guilt that I hadn't dwelled upon since the early days of my hybrid transformation. I had brought Bella into this world. I had complicated her life. I had been the selfish one.

"Hey, none of that." Bella's voice was hard. When I opened my eyes, her face was inches from mine. I still wondered if sometimes she hadn't been given the special annoying gift of reading my mind, and my mind only, "I can tell. When you are thinking those horrible, Edward thoughts. It does us no good to feel guilty," Her hands reached up to frame my face and play in my hair. She leaned forward and pressed an urgent, almost pleading kiss to my lips. At once, I almost forgot we were in Italy. She had that affect on me.

"Bella, don't start things you can't finish." I growled playfully.

"Who says I can't finish them?" She leaned forward again and our lips were suddenly intertwined. I would have stopped her. It wasn't fitting to be acting in such a manner when we were in obvious peril. But the pressure—_her_ pressure went away. She was relaxing—at least in the important way. And I didn't want to lose that.

I caught her up in my arms and moved us to the couch. Our lips never disconnected. There was no trace of the hesitant kisses that we first shared all those years ago. Time and practice had aided that cause. I almost laughed at the thought of those chaste memories. But my mouth was occupied at the moment. But kissing her anytime was like kissing her for the first time all over again. So unpredictable. So impulsive.

My every instinct urged me to rip our clothes off and give in to the passion that burned within me. But my rational side— that responsible, conscientious, and exasperating part of me—wouldn't allow it. Because if I could get her relaxed enough, I would get her to sleep. And she needed that sleep more than we needed to satiate our desires.

I broke away, my lips burning a trail from her jaw to her neck. And then I breathed in her heady scent, trying to catch my breath.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Bella sounded annoyed. I chuckled.

"Did you just feel what happened?" I asked, softly.

"Uhm, well… I thought we were going to be Mr. and Mrs. Cullen for a minute. Apparently, Mr. Cullen wimped out."

"Ouch. That's my ego you just stepped on," I grimaced, but continued, "You need sleep. You're relaxing. I was just trying to help it along."

This gave Bella pause.

"Oh." She finally said, sounding tired again, though the edge of annoyance in her voice was still evident, "Maybe I should take advantage of this." She slid down until her head was resting on my chest. I wrapped my arms instinctively around her and smiled when she yawned.

"Will you hum my lullaby?" she sounded far away already, but I complied. Her relaxed state gave me time to see if I could hear any of my family's thoughts. They seemed to be even further away, though. I did a random scan around, listening to the guards and any other mind that might be around, trying to distract my own feverish mind.

Then I heard something that confused me.

'_Where is Bella? She has to be here. Why can't we find her? Ugh. This place smells terrible. Rancid with leeches.'_

That could be only one person.

**A/N- Dun Dun Dun. Guess who? Hehe.. ok.. so minor cliffie—but you guys can figure out who it is. You're smart people.**

**Continuing in the smart people theme, you know what would be smart? Reviewing. Because… well.. it's smart to keep the writer rich in reviews. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- Wow. We're getting down to the wire here. I hope that the wait was worth it, because this story has got a mind of its own. Even I am baffled to see where it's taken me. **

**I don't own Twilight or anything else in the series. I only own the characters I created and this awesome AU story plot. **

Bella's POV

I woke up in a haze, wondering where I was and what was going on. I felt Edward's steady breathing under me and snuggled deeper into his chest. I didn't want to remember where we were. This—whatever it was—was enough for me.

"Bella, are you awake?" Edward's voice tickled my cheek.

"No," I answered, wrapping my arms firmly around his torso and trying to go back to sleep.

He chuckled, tickling my cheek again, but his laugh didn't last long. I suddenly wondered if something was wrong. If something had changed. This state of consciousness meant that I had to acknowledge we were in Italy. And that we had gotten Seamus in trouble, more than likely. We had also been separated once again from the family.

"What is it?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking at him.

"I hesitate to tell you. It's unbelievable even to me." He sighed. There was an anxious glint in his eyes.

"Tell me." I felt the fear rise up within me and the immediate pressure that surrounded us. I took a moment to breathe and pull the pressure back in. Edward waited, seeming to understand my need for a moment. When I looked up at him, he took that as a sign.

"I don't know how or why, but someone else is here. In Volterra. And I've been tracing him through his mind for the past hours while you've been asleep." He was being very cryptic.

"Who is it?" I asked, keeping my concentration off the instinctive fear I felt.

"It's Jacob." Edward's eyes didn't mask his disbelief. I was too stunned to think anything for a moment.

"What is he doing here?" I finally choked out, my eyes locked on Edward's face.

"They—they're here. Sam, Jacob, and Quil. Looking for you." He stated simply.

"Looking for me? But why?" I was so confused.

"From what I can decipher, Jacob has been trying to contact you for a while," He frowned, "You don't have your cell phone here. He's been trying to call that for a few days now. Something about apologizing. He's worried about you. It has something to do with me, too. But they have remained undetected, which is surprising to me. How would he know where we were?"

"Because when he called, I managed to tell him that there was more than one reason why I was changed at the exact moment I was changed," I frowned back at him, "Of course, the most important reason is that I am insanely in love with you and want to spend all eternity right here, like this. But the Volturi was a deciding factor on when."

"Oh yes, because the Volturi were the ones pleading with me to change you the spring of our senior year." Edward rolled his eyes, but he smirked at me.

"So, if Jacob is here," I said, ignoring his sarcastic remark, "Then why hasn't he and the others freaked out or whatever?"

"You mean why hasn't he changed into a big red wolf and mauled a bunch of vampires?" Edward asked, "He has much more control now. He's older. They're older. Better in charge of the urges."

"You're sure? Even with a city full of vampires?" I asked, skeptically.

"They've all mastered it years ago. Actually, it seems as if their term as wolves was almost up, until the Volturi guard came marching through La Push to Forks. The presence of vampires kept all of them active."

"What are they doing right now?" I asked.

"Jacob is sitting in the middle of the square. The infamous square where I almost destroyed our lives." He grimaced, "He's just watching people. It's daytime, so of course there are no vampires to be found outside. He's waiting for dark. Quil and Sam are just roaming around."

"Why do I feel the sudden urge to blow up a bunch of vampires, just to get us out of here? All of us." I sighed.

"Don't you dare." Edward's voice was grave, "But they could be used to our advantage. Another asset. Outsiders that the Volturi knows nothing about."

"Edward," I used my best warning tone, "We are not using Jacob to get out of here."

"Bella, he's here to help you. He knows you're here. Having allies, even dogs, would help us. If there is such a need." He began rubbing circles in my back and playing in my hair, trying to distract my thoughts, I'm sure. But it didn't work.

My mind was reeling. Were we to the point of fighting with the Volturi? We had been acquiescent, so far. Could our willingness to keep the peace be prolonging our stay? Edward seemed to understand what I was thinking.

"I don't want to fight them," he shook his head, "There are so many. And even now, there are other teams of them around the world, cleaning up messes and keeping the peace. It's dangerous. For all of us. I want to leave peaceably, with everyone intact. The Volturi are making it very hard."

We lay like that for a moment. I practiced the difficult dual task of reigning in the constant pressure and pondering our circumstances.

"Something's happening." Edward suddenly said. He sat up, taking me with him. Gathering me into a tighter embrace, "Henry is coming. I still haven't figured out what his gift is. If he has one. I just don't think he wouldn't have one. Not with the privileges he has."

I was panicked. I tried to concentrate on breathing. I tried to get control of the pressure. I knew I was probably making Edward feel very uncomfortable. I moved to get up, be he held on.

When I glanced at his face, I realized it was contorted in terror and disgust. Before I could ask what was wrong, the door opened and Henry came in, followed by two other nameless vampires.

"Bella, the Volturi wish to speak to you alone."

Those words drained my face of all color. I could feel a cold chill sweep over me.

"No," Edward's voice was a low growl. In a flash he was standing between me and Henry, almost nose to nose.

And then something strange happened. Some strange exchange that I almost missed. Henry must have known that Edward could read minds and was talking to him that way, because after a few moments of hard stares, Edward turned a calm face in my direction.

"I think you should go to the Volturi and see what they want." It was eerily odd. The way he said it made me uncomfortable. There had been urgency and protectiveness in his voice before. Now it was just— unperturbed.

For a second I allowed myself to second guess him. Because whatever was going on—Edward had been terrified before. Appalled at whatever he had heard.

After a few moments of studying his serene face, though, I decided it was best to do as he said. He knew Henry's mind. If there was any cause for worry, he would have balked.

"Alright. Will you stay here?" I asked, watching his face in concern.

"No," Henry interjected, "We're taking him to Carlisle and Esme."

This was all so suspicious. I didn't know what to think. Edward's angelic face was reassuring and calm. I knew he would never steer me in the wrong direction.

"Let's go then." I nodded. The two guards that came in with Henry escorted me down the hall, while Henry walked with Edward up the hall. I got one last glance at the silent pair before the guards turned a corner and I had to follow them.

I didn't even try to reign in the pressure now. I just kept it in check. Any precaution that would merit me some distance from the Volturi would be taken. And those guards could feel it. They kept at least four paces from me.

They led me towards a staircase that went upwards. I wondered where we were going, exactly. The institutional walls and florescent overhead lights gave way to the stone and plaster that I had become used to in Volterra. If I could _ever_ be used to Volterra.

And then I saw the sunlight. The beautiful, afternoon sunlight was streaming through a skylight or large opening in the castle-like façade that the Volturi housed their headquarters in. The beams were more evident as we climbed further up the steps.

When we reached the top of the staircase I realized that we were at the very top of the façade. And we were subsequently standing on the upper level of a ring. Something that would have been used in the medieval times for a jousting competition or sword fighting. The upper level was actually the viewing deck. A place where people could watch whatever sport was going on in the center of the arena.

And I was horrified to see the scene that was unfolding before me.

Aro, Marcus and Caius were standing just opposite of me on the canopied viewing deck, looking down into the arena with satisfied looks on their faces. I stepped forward, not knowing what to expect when I looked into the lower level. What I saw caused me physical pain. I grabbed onto the stone ledge of the upper deck to keep myself steady.

There stood my entire family—Edward included— and Seamus in a straight row. All of them looked so detached. So lifeless. But still, with the exception of Edward, they were all sparkling in the soft rays of sunlight. If nothing else, that gave me courage because it was familiar. Before anyone could stop me I called out to them.

"Carlisle! Esme! Can you hear me? Emmett! Edward! PLEASE! LOOK UP HERE!"

I heard cynical laughter from across the way.

"Oh dear Bella," Aro's voice was patronizing, "Did you really think we would just release you? Let you go? Let you all go? You're very naïve if you thought that."

My fear doubled which fused the surrounding area with even more pressure. I had no control anymore. I silently apologized to Edward. Because I knew if any of these vampires advanced me, they would be blown to pieces, endangering myself.

"What did you do to them?" I managed to call out. The more I looked upon my family—my life force—the more frightened I felt.

"Oh, it wasn't me who did anything." Aro shrugged carelessly, "Look down again, and you'll know who the real lion tamer is."

Henry stepped out into the sun. He, too, glittered in perfection. But now I realized that he hadn't been giving Edward information through his mind. He must have been controlling him somehow. All of them.

I gasped.

"Mind control. Very good Bella." Caius was the one speaking now, "Henry has been one of my favorite additions. I don't know about you, but I am going to have a good time with this. Heidi! Bring in our entertainment."

I watched in anguish as Heidi, temptress that she was, led a very disconcerted bunch of tourists into the arena.

_Oh no._ This couldn't be happening. And not while I was standing here. Watching.

"You see Bella, this is what we've wanted to see all our existence since we met Carlisle," Marcus smirked, "The man is infuriating, with his calm control and refrain from human blood. Of course, it doesn't help him any that his coven continues to grow and becomes more powerful with each new addition. Mind reading, future telling, mood influencing and now annihilation."

"Helping him break that nasty animal habit will be our pleasure," Caius sneered.

I glanced down and watched with distaste as Heidi led the terrified humans to sit on a bench, waiting for the proceedings to be over. When one of them questioned what was going on, Heidi and Henry both growled ferociously, making the entire group jump.

"And so I'm supposed to stand here and watch?" I almost roared. The three old vampires stared at me wide eyed.

"No, Bella," Jane's saccharine voice came from the left side of me. She was standing in her angelic glory about twenty feet away from me, grinning evilly. "As much as it pains me to say, we want you to become one of us. Your gift is very useful to us. If you agree to stay, then we'll let the Cullens and Seamus go."

I couldn't breathe. I grasped the stone ledge again as I looked down at my family. My eyes went from one person to the next, memorizing each face. I finally rested my gaze on Edward. My beloved husband. My heart wrenched thinking about making him leave. Or watching him go. But if they would be free of this place--

"And you wouldn't want Edward, too? Or Alice?" I asked, not tearing my gaze from Edward.

"They are too obstinate. Henry would have to keep them under constant mind control," Marcus shook his head.

I could feel the silent tears dripping down my face. What if I never saw Edward again? What if I remained locked in this castled city for the rest of my existence? I felt so torn.

Jane stepped closer. I slammed the pressure towards her. This was no time for her to try anything clever. And her mind control did not work on me. She had the good decency to look alarmed and stumble a few steps back.

"Think about it, Bella," Aro coaxed, "By allowing the Cullens to feed on those humans, you could rip the seams of your beloved family apart. And you've all been so careful to abstain."

I vaguely remembered a conversation with Carlisle about the reason why there could be so many of us all living in the same area. It was easier because no one felt threatened by a breach in territory. There was plenty of game to feed on. But with human blood flowing through their veins, the delicate fabric of the family's bond could be shredded.

If I wanted to protect the family, I would have to stay.

"So what you're saying is, if I agree to stay, then you let them all go? Mind control and all, and send them back to Massachusetts, where they can be a family?" It was physically hurting me to even ponder the words, much less say them.

"That is correct." Marcus nodded.

"Would it be wrong of me to ask a favor? If it is possible?" I asked, knowing it would cost me everything. Everything to ask the favor I had in mind.

"Ask away." Aro nodded, motioning with a disinterested hand.

"Is it possible, Henry, for you to wash someone's mind clean of an event? Or a series of events?" I called down.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked from his defensive stance in front of my family.

"Can you erase all memory of me from Edward's mind?" I asked. I felt hollow inside. I felt like I might as well take my own life, if Edward didn't remember me. And I was, in a sense, taking my own life, by asking this.

Henry hesitated. I presumed he was trying to decide if he was capable of it.

"I can. But only at the Volturi's will." Henry finally answered. His voice was full of disbelief, "But why? Why would you want that? Wouldn't you want him to miss you? To pine for you?"

He didn't understand. I knew if Edward's memory of me was stripped of him—the parts that I was in anyways—then he would go on living his life. I could feel comfort in the fact that he would live in happiness and not in pain. Only I would.

"If that is her request… then we have no problems with it." Marcus answered, waving a dismissive hand, "But you don't have to do that right now. You can do it on the plane back to the States. In fact, wash all their minds clean of Bella and fill in the reason why Edward is a mongrel."

"And I had so wanted to see Carlisle feed." Caius frowned, "Pity. Well, more for us, I suppose."

I felt physically ill. More than that. I felt completely defiled, mind, body and soul. Empty. So empty.

**A/N- Whew… that was… tiring. I think I'm going to have to go lay down. But please… don't hesitate to leave me reviews. Actually, I insist that you do. The Cullens' existence depends upon it. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N- I love the response I've gotten from the last chapter. It's actually kind of gratifying to see so many people dislike the idea of having the Cullens' memories of Bella erased. Someone even wrote that they love this story, but they didn't care for such a plot twist. **

**And let me point out that even in Twilight we knew that Bella would do whatever she had to, to protect her loved ones. Remember? She slipped away from Jasper and Alice, as much as it hurt her, to go save her mom. Asking Henry to erase her from their memories isn't such a stretch. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've had the most problems with it, because I keep changing things… **

**Remember, I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyers does. I just own Seamus, Henry and any other character that made it into the plot. **

The Volturi were about to send my family away forever. My heart wrenched and writhed within me. I could feel the pounding of my chest. The pain. The anguish. It was difficult to decide whether my heart was palpitating because of my particular gift, or because of the thought of being separated from Edward.

I couldn't bear to tear my eyes away from his expressionless face. Is this how I would remember him in our last moments? Emotionless? Passionless? A granite statue? I wanted to cry out. But what could I do? The Volturi had kept us here for almost four days. Just looking at their faces made me realize that they hadn't fed in a while. Their eyes were beginning to become black holes. What would happen if they were here longer? Would humans in the city be more of a temptation?

If there was a way to get them all out of here, I was willing to be the sacrificial lamb. They all had at one time or another risked their existences. It was my turn.

"Are you certain Bella?" Aro called, making my eyes leap away from Edward's face and across the arena.

"Yes," I barely whispered, knowing that I would be sick for days—years—being separated from Edward—from all of them. Aro nodded towards Henry and suddenly the entire Cullen clan was moving towards the outer lip of the arena.

They were leaving. And I would never see them again. And they wouldn't remember me.

I was about to call out to Edward. In a desperate attempt to make him hear me. So that he would look up with those beautiful green eyes and let me know that I wasn't alone in this. But before I could make a sound, a deafening howl startled me and caused my grip to crush the stone wall underneath my hands.

And then a russet colored wolf jumped down from the top of the canopied viewing deck and into the arena.

Jacob. I had forgotten about him entirely. I wasn't alone.

"Jacob!" I screamed, finding my voice. The wolf's head snapped towards me and before there was time to blink, he was at my side, nuzzling my hand and sniffing around me. The subtle whine that emitted from him made me wonder if he, too, could feel the pressure coming off of me in my state of fear.

Then two other wolves jumped into the arena, one silver and one dark brown, corralling the Cullens back into the sunlight and circling around them, guarding them. They were here to help us.

Relief flooded my senses and tears almost pooled in my eyes again. There was a way. But how? I suddenly wished for Edward's keen mind or Jasper's cunning strategy.

Jacob nudged my hand again and I tried to find words to explain to him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jane screeched before I could answer Jacob's silent question. She made quick movements to close the distance between us, but Jacob stood in her way, snarling.

I patted Jacob's head. His presence was a great confidence booster. I suddenly felt like I could fight again.

"Pity you marched through La Push the way you did, Jane, when you were looking for us," I donned a slight smile, feeling a little more secure with the large, hairy beast between us, "Because when you did, you walked right through a werewolf patch."

Jacob snorted. It sounded like he was laughing.

"And just when their term as werewolf was up, you reactivated it." I leaned against the wall, folding my arms in a casual stance. The rest of the arena could hear me, too. I was sure of it. "Do you know what a werewolf is Jane? It's not a mythical creature. Then again… we all know about being mythical creatures, don't we?"

I noticed that Jane was concentrating very hard. Then her expression was suddenly horrified. She must have been trying to use her own gift on Jacob—and it didn't work. Good. One less thing to worry about. I concentrated on my monologue.

"Werewolves were created for one purpose and one purpose only. To kill vampires." I looked down where the equally horrified Henry and Heidi stood, motionless, staring up at me.

"Did no one give you the memo?" I asked the entire arena of vampires, "Did no one tell you there was a creature that could destroy our kind?"

The guards were all confused and horrified, but Aro, Marcus and Caius seemed to take it all in stride. Why would those three know about the werewolves and keep it from the rest of their leagues? My mind couldn't wrap itself around the idea. The pause in my speech gave Jane the chance to speak.

"So what are they doing here? Were the Cullens not their enemy during their stay in Forks?" Jane asked. I turned back to her and patted Jacob's head again, glad to have him there.

"They're here because you came barging into our homes and forced us to come here. Jacob, apparently, has been trying to reach me for the past few days. It's a good thing we got in that fight, isn't it?" I scratched in between his ears. He barked a happy response and I imagined I saw a smile in his eyes.

"When Jacob couldn't reach me on my cell phone—a phone that I subsequently carry everywhere with me, except for Volterra—he became suspicious. And he went hunting for me."

"But that doesn't tell us how or why he would be conspiring with the enemy or why he would know to come directly here." Jane pointed out.

"He was my friend when I was a human," I tried to shrug nonchalantly, "The early spring before my first visit to Volterra we had a very strong friendship. Our families—that is, my human family and his—were old friends. After I was changed and then we moved to Massachusetts, Jacob and I stayed in contact. He knew you were looking for me—for us. He called while I had Edward sedated, wondering why a legion of vampires would come stomping through La Push, after the Cullens had so carefully stayed off their territory. So I told him."

"Territory? Strong friendships with the enemy? How many rules have the Cullens broken?" Alec appeared out of nowhere to stand beside Jane. Safety in numbers, I realized. Jacob growled in protest.

"Territory—Carlisle and Edward struck an agreement with the Quileute tribe marking boundaries more than a century ago. The Cullens would never cross into La Push territory, otherwise, the werewolf guardians of the tribe were allowed to use any means necessary to protect their people. And neither of us—Jacob or me—were what we are today. Neither of us were enemies then. I didn't even know that werewolves existed." I leveled a cool look at the childlike pair.

"So now what?" Caius voice echoed over the silent arena, "Do you think we should just let you go? Let all of you—with your alliance to werewolves and your abundance of talents? How absurd!"

Fear struck me again. Even with three large werewolves and my growing need to succumb to the pressure that was radiating from me, they were still going to be stubborn. Did they not realize that we were not a threat, because we were not interested in ruling?

I mistakenly shifted my concentration to the fear. The relief I had first felt at the arrival of the wolves dissipated like the stone wall I had crushed under my fingers. I could no longer hold control. My anxiety turned on me. I shoved Jacob out of the way as all the pressure I had built up fell from my grasp and into the closest vampires.

Jane and Alec. I heard their tortured screams just as it hit them. I was horrified. I hadn't meant to. I had promised Edward I wouldn't. I hadn't been able to stop it. I was too strong, even for myself.

"NO!" Aro's voice was a ringing in my ears. He realized what I had done. Had witnessed it with his own eyes. They all had. And they were terrified.

I placed my hand on my chest, waiting for the waves of chest pains. Waiting for the inevitable weakness that would strike me. But it never came. I felt a slight alteration in the pattern of my heart, but then, it was back to normal. Jacob was by my side once more, offering his support.

"Do you see now?' I almost screamed, "Do you understand why you should release me? I have been in this environment built on hatred for FOUR DAYS! And I have built up enough protective energy to obliterate two at a time! Alec and Jane can be the opening act or it can be the grand finale. It's your choice."

There was complete silence. I stared hard at the three old vampires. They wouldn't be reasoned with. I knew they wouldn't. And I had a feeling that I would have to fight through hundreds of vampires—strong vampires—before I would be able to get to them. So I focused on a weak link.

"Let them go, Henry." 

I scowled down at the vampire. His youthful face was contorted in fear. He knew he would be next if he didn't obey me.

"Do not let them go!" Caius warned, "We do not bow down to other covens. If you will not obey—if you choose to place yourself in leagues with these—mutts, then you will have to be taken down."

Like a flash, vampires were on all sides of Jacob and me, making the pressure and my anxiety triple.

"Jacob, go!" I pointed down to the bowl of the arena. He growled and took a protective stance in front of me, turning towards the onslaught. "Are you serious? Did you not just see what I did? I'm fine. GO!"

But he didn't. He launched himself onto the closest guard, tearing and ripping at the flesh. Another advanced at me, but faltered when she reached the vicinity of my pressure. This slight pause gave me the chance to eliminate her.

I looked in time to see Jacob being slammed into a stone wall by his attacker. Then a silver flash came from the bottom of the arena and was upon another guard. Sam had left Quil to deal with Henry and Heidi. I began blowing up any vampire that came within my reach. If the Volturi wanted a fight, they would have one.

After a few precious minutes I realized there were too many on the narrow viewing deck. I could only use my gift on two or three at a time. They were coming from every nook and cranny of the city. More than fifty, I estimated. And they were attacking faster than I could build up the energy to blow them up.

"Come on!" I called to Jacob and Sam, who were fighting two vampires at a time, ripping them to shreds. I vaulted over the wall and down into the lower level of the arena, facing Henry. If I could free the Cullens, they would be able to help.

"Henry, don't back down." Caius voice could be heard above the din of vampire against wolf, "If you do, you will be terminated."

I suddenly wanted to do more than obliterate the Volturi's guards. I wanted to help set the free of this hideous monarchy. Henry was so young. He had probably been fourteen or fifteen when he was changed. I suddenly wondered if he had known any life other than the life of a Volturi guard.

"No Henry, you don't have to listen to them." I said urgently. I could feel the legion of vampires at my back, coming down the sides of the arena, towards me, "Our coven is large, but we don't boss people around. You would be free. All you have to do is conform to our eating patterns. That's a miniscule thing in comparison to all you must have to deal with being here in Volterra. Let my family go."

Henry must have faltered even more. His control of Emmett and Alice was suddenly broken and without missing a beat my brother and sister were fighting at my back, allowing me to continue my negotiation with Henry.

"You'll die for this!" Caius hissed over the din. I couldn't decide if he was talking to me, or to Henry. Maybe both.

"If you don't have your legions of vampires anymore, who will kill us?" I shouted, annihilating two vampires that were about to attack me from my left side.

Henry's eyes became wider as he felt the energy wave that rolled off of me with the effort.

"Can you promise? Swear that your family wouldn't control me, as the Volturi have?" Henry asked. I inwardly grinned, knowing that the adolescent within Henry still raged. Freedom is what we all had sought as teenagers. And he had been caged in Volterra all this time.

"BELLA! JUST SAY YES SO HE'LL LET THEM GO!" Emmett shouted. I could hear the sickening rips and tears of the massacre behind me. I hoped that it was Emmett and Alice doing the ripping and not the Volturi guards.

"Yes." I nodded, "As long as you conform to our diet." It only took a split second for Henry's control to dissolve and then there were thirteen of us against the Volturi.

Edward was at my side at once.

"We have a lot to talk about." He muttered, darkly as he grabbed one of the incoming attackers and sent him into a wall, away from us.

"I don't believe this is such a good time," I gritted out, as female vampire jumped off the upper level straight at me. Suspended in mid air, she blew into pieces when I aimed the pressure at her.

"I realize that," Edward grasped my arm for a moment as if indecisive about leaving me, "But you just tried to wipe my memories of you away." I looked up into his eyes as I aimed at another vampire that was about to attack us and let the building pressure go. His eyes widened a little and then he grimaced, before jumping into a fray to help Seamus. I would have to answer for my actions later.

"Bella, I could use your help!" Rosalie called when three guards tried to overtake her. I was beginning to feel tired, but I sent a wave of pressure that took care of two of the three.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!" Jasper scowled at me, before he ripped another guard in two, from the shoulder to the hip.

The guards began to realize I was more of a threat to them and attacked my family instead of me. I took that small chance to glance up at where Aro, Marcus and Caius were supposed to be watching their modern day arena battle. But they weren't there.

I fumed. They were running! This gave me another burst of energy. I turned back to the attacking and began eliminating any vampire I saw that was clear of my family and our accomplices.

"Bella, can you get rid of the body parts?" Carlisle called to me, holding a severed head in his hand, "They're trying to reform themselves."

I, then, realized that the glittering white chunks of stone representing dismembered Volturi guards were still moving and writhing. Trying to reform. I only nodded sending a full blast of pressure to any pile of parts I could see.

It could have been minutes—it could have been hours. But with one final sickening rip, Edward destroyed the last guard in sight and as he threw the parts down, I destroyed them.

"Where's Heidi? And the humans?" Esme asked frantically, not allowing us to celebrate the seeming victory. The bench where the humans had sat was empty. My stomach wrenched at the thought.

"She would have sneaked out and taken them with her, out that door," Henry supplied, pointing to a wooden door that led away from the arena. He looked a little uncomfortable in his skin, standing with all of us, but he seemed willing to help.

"No, they're still here," Edward shook his head, "I can hear them. Their minds are wrought with terror. They are hiding somewhere." He stepped to the left, concentrating very hard and then strode to his right, towards a door.

"Edward! You can't just walk up to them. They're probably frightened beyond all belief." I sighed, "Before we can even retrieve them, we have to get rid of anything that might be threatening. Like werewolves."

Jacob snorted and jumped off the ledge of the upper deck to sit down beside me.

"Jake, you guys can't go walking through Volterra like this anyways. I hope you remembered to take your clothes off before morphing." I rolled my eyes. He snorted again and Edward laughed.

"What did he say?" I asked, studying Edward's face.

"He said that you were right, but he'd never admit it. And they did remember to stow their clothes away." Jacob growled in Edward's direction. Probably at the unwanted translation.

"Are you all ok?" I asked Jacob, "No permanent damage?"

"They're fine. Besides being a little jarred." Edward answered for them. I thought of seeing Jacob slammed up against the stone wall. A little jarred, indeed.

"Alright, then. Come back when you are decent and in human form." I patted his head. Quil and Sam coughed barks, probably laughing at Jacob, but they all padded away and vaulted up over the arena walls.

"I'll take care of the humans," Carlisle offered, "Henry, do you think you can coax them into thinking their tour was uneventful?" Henry nodded and followed Carlisle.

"I'm not feeling so well." I placed a hand on my forehead. I felt dizzy all of the sudden. Edward was at my side at once, placing a protective arm around my waist.

"She's feeling the aftereffects of her gift," Jasper warned, "You'd better catch her."

That was the last thing I heard before I fainted.

**A/N- Gasp! She fainted. But huzzah! The Cullens are free. And there's an Edward chapter up next. I need reviews though. These chapters don't write themselves. **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N- You guys have NO CLUE how difficult it was to write this chapter. I'm not sure why I had so much trouble. I have a hunch that half of it was because I have been distracted by several different things going on in the active part of my life.**

**Nonetheless, I give you this chapter. I've been working on it… and rewriting it… and oui… I hope you like it. I do. **

**Don't forget. I don't own Twilight. Just some of these marvelous characters and the plotline. **

Edward's POV

I caught Bella before she could fall to the ground. Seamus shot me a worried glance, coming closer.

"This is insanity." I murmured, looking down into Bella's pale, tired face.

"She's just worn down from using her power." Seamus assured me, after placing a hand on Bella's arm, "Her body's fluids are running out. You should both try to re-hydrate before we leave the city."

I nodded, not taking my gaze from her. My heart felt ripped in half. Henry's mind control had kept us obedient to his cause, but it hadn't kept me from knowing what was happening around me. I had heard everything.

And Bella's surrender had made me want to weep and yell at her at the same time. To think that she had asked to be removed from my memories. MINE! It was inconceivable. After almost twenty years together, she was still the most self-sacrificing individual I had ever known.

"Edward," Esme's gentle arm was around my shoulder as she peaked down at Bella, "She was doing what she thought was best. I know it hurts. It hurts me, too, that she would even think to wipe away our memories of her. But she's just as protective as you—maybe even more so. I only wonder if we wouldn't feel like we were missing something. Something in the essential make up of our family."

"It probably cost her everything." Alice muttered from my other side, "Giving up the life that we have all fought for. Giving up you, Edward. She may have not been any good to the Volturi."

"I can't bear it." I whispered, "Knowing that she was going to—to send us away. That I wouldn't remember her. It's unfathomable."

My heart was still breaking.

"Edward," Carlisle's voice beckoned. I looked up to see that Jacob, Sam and Quil had rejoined us in human form and Henry was also standing off to the side. The tourists had been taken care of as well. "We need to get moving. Henry said he can take us to the airstrip and convince the pilot to take us back home. Aro, Marcus and Caius have probably retreated to their quarters, waiting for us to leave."

I only nodded and tucked Bella closer into my body, following Carlisle's lead away from the arena and into a long corridor.

"Henry, is there somewhere we can get a few bottles of water?" Esme asked.

"There's a tourist hospitality room in the entrance to the castle. There's plenty there." Henry nodded.

I scowled at the youthful looking vampire. I still wasn't up to trusting Henry completely. He had been able to control our minds. What if he tried to do that again? Bella had put far too much faith in him. And to invite him into our coven! It was insane.

And what of the Volturi? Aro, Marcus and Caius were bound to be somewhere in the stone building, hiding. And they should be! Bella had proven that she was dangerous. I wondered which of the other Volturi guards had survived. There were few. That much I was sure of.

As we walked through a series of stone walled halls and neutral looking corridors, everyone's mind was filled with images from the battle. The most disturbing scene was the one from Henry. It was after Bella had jumped from the balcony and landed in front of him. He couldn't seem to get the image of her despaired face out of his mind. I felt silently gratified that he would be so distraught. At least I wasn't the only one.

"Is she ok?" Jacob's voice was to my left as we walked. I didn't know whether to growl at him or thank him. My constant fixed gaze upon Bella reminded me that I wouldn't be holding her, had it not been for Jacob. So I chose the latter.

"I think so. Seamus says she is just dehydrated." I took a moment to glance over at him, "Thank you, for showing up when you did. You probably saved us all."

I could hear Jacob's warring thoughts. And he knew I could, too. He still addressed me outside his mind, where he thought it made more sense.

"It wasn't our design to save a coven of you people," Jacob frowned, "But you're her family, so I guess it comes with the territory. I should be used to it, but I'm not. I don't know that I will ever be. And to have her save one more of you—well. That's just Bella I suppose. Take the high road when in doubt. She could have just blown that mind controller up to free all of you."

"Her compassion befuddles even me," I nodded, "If you can call it that. I am still not thrilled with the idea."

Jacob and I were in agreement about something at least.

At that moment, Bella moved slightly, alerting me to the fact that she might be waking up.

"Bella?" I murmured. I wanted her to wake up, but my medical knowledge knew this experience had taken a toll on her body. I was feeling a little weak myself, so I knew it was better for her to rest if she could.

She shifted around again and then she opened her eyes. I felt all of my pain and confusion wash away as I looked into those chocolate depths. Bella was safe. That was all I cared about.

"Oh, Edward," her voice was barely audible, but it communicated her confusion and guilt.

"We're ok. We're going to be ok." I assured her, "Just rest. We'll be home in no time."

"Jacob?" she glanced around.

"I'm right here." Jacob bent to her eye level. She only managed to nod before closing her eyes again.

Oh, what I felt for this woman.

After picking up a few bottles of water for Bella and me, we made our way to a back entrance. My mind was a little clearer and I was finally able to focus enough to separate the irritating buzzing into the clear thoughts of those who were around me.

So I knew exactly when we would run into Aro, Marcus and Caius.

"You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Marcus feigned hurt, when we met them head on at the great foyer that would lead us out a back entrance.

I heard Carlisle's mind clearly, and he was offended.

_The Volturi were supposed to be fair rulers. Of course there are some rules that we disagreed on, but for the most part, we've lived in relative peace._

"Clearly, you don't understand. You see, Bella is ours now." Aro's mind almost drowned out his voice. There were images of Bella in his mind, being a pet, like Jane, to the Volturi. Doing their bidding. All of it. These rulers were far from the educated, well adjusted group that Carlisle had once thought they were.

"I don't think _you_ understand," I said, barely able to control my own voice. Barely able to control my own anger, "_We_ are leaving. All of us. There is no one here who will stop us." I clutched Bella tighter to me.

"We do not wish to rule," Carlisle interjected. His composure was only a façade, "You should know that by now. We only wish to live peacefully."

"And you may. As long as you surrender Bella," Caius scowled. They were panicked. Their minds were assessing the damage we had done. We had wiped out over half of their troops—all of their favorites except Henry.

"Bella never agreed to your terms," Carlisle grimaced.

"But she was going to!" Caius insisted.

"Before those—mongrels interfered." Marcus scowled, pointing at Jacob.

"Because you were going to try to destroy the entire coven!" Carlisle exclaimed, "You exploited her selflessness for your own convenience."

"And how convenient it was for us." Aro murmured coolly, "Since you destroyed most of our special guard."

"Wait, wait wait, just a minute," Emmett stepped in. If I hadn't been so angry at all the assumptions the Volturi were making, I would have laughed at Emmett's thoughts, "You actually think that after all that—after Bella blows up most of your coven fighting for us—she is just going to go quietly? Or we are just going to fork her over? You are looking for a fight, because that-" he pointed at Bella, "is my little sister. And I am not going to allow it."

"Henry," Marcus chirped, suddenly eying Emmett warily. Marcus was going to try to get Henry back. "You can still be one of us. One of the elite. We won't penalize you for being afraid of Bella. You can be one of our right hand guards."

I couldn't believe it. They actually thought that Henry was going back to them. That if they offered him a high position he would go back to them. Bella had offered him freedom, and judging by his more recent thoughts, he was not going back.

But then Henry seemed to consider it and he took a step forward.

"Henry," I murmured, a warning in my tone, "Don't do this. You don't want their lifestyle anymore."

A sound from Bella made me look down. Her big brown eyes opened wide and she grimaced at me. I almost laughed again, but the raging inferno within me made it impossible.

"What's wrong?" she asked, disoriented.

"Can you stand?" I asked, gently, turning away from the Volturi.

"I think so," she nodded and I immediately sat her down on her feet, settling myself between her and the Volturi. I was about to give her a short explanation until I looked at her face. She was looking over my shoulder, and her once confused expression turned fiery. She stepped lithely around me and towards Aro, Marcus and Caius.

"I'm so glad that I get to see you before we leave," Bella addressed them. In an almost involuntary motion, they stepped back, "Henry, stand down. You will not be rejoining the Volturi's rank."

Henry obeyed her every command. His thoughts chanted, _I will not go back to the Volturi _several times as he stepped away from them. Self preservation was the key behind his willingness to comply.

Bella's posture stiffened and I felt a pressure that radiated from her body. I saw Jasper flinch and his mind was filled with the fear that Bella felt. Still, she felt so fearful of the Volturi? What could they do to her now?

"You, young lady, have come into our city, massacred our legions and left us almost defenseless. You seem to have our own allies under your control. I'd almost wonder if you weren't some sort of seductress. What do you have to say to us?" Caius growled.

"A seductress! That's ridiculous," Bella threw her hands up in irritation, "You brought us here. You threatened my family. You gave me no choice but to massacre the guard. And yes, I convinced Henry to join our side, but at the price of his own existence! I'm not a seductress. I'm a negotiator. I just have a valuable bargaining chip on my side."

"And what of your strong bond with that one," Marcus pointed at Jacob. Jacob growled at being pointed out. I almost growled, too.

"Did you not hear my story?" Bella stared at Marcus, "Jacob was my best friend ages ago."

"There's more to it than that. Your relationship—it's stronger than friendship. Not nearly as strong as your ties with Edward, mind you, but strong nonetheless. He is your willing slave, obviously." Marcus scowled.

I stood motionless, waiting for her answer. The minds of my family were raging. I tried to focus on Jasper. His mind would tell me what Bella might be feeling. And just as I suspected, Bella was confused.

I didn't blame her. From what I had derived from Jacob's mind, their relationship had been on its way to love. I winced, thinking about that. It had been my fault their relationship had gotten so strong. I could only trust that Marcus was right. Our own relationship was stronger.

"What does it matter? You're forgetting that Jacob and I were friends before he was a werewolf and before I was changed into a half breed. The problem here is that you are standing in our way." Bella shook her head, "And you do NOT want to get between me and the door now. All bets and negotiations are off. When I blew up Jane and Alec, it was over."

Bella advanced again, making the Volturi glide back again. Their minds were colored with an imbalance of fear and loathing.

"You are going to leave us alone," she scowled at them, "You are going to step away from the exit and we are going to go. You will not EVER try to find us again, unless there is some constructive reason—such as your leagues are in deep peril with vampires in South America and you need me to go obliterate legions of newborns. You are going to leave Henry and Seamus and Jacob and his pack alone. And we, in turn, will leave in peace. In silence. None of us will ever come back, avenging this time here."

Bella was beautiful, standing there all flushed and fierce. I had never felt more proud or intimidated by her. So this is what it felt like. What she was always talking about. The complex emotion that made me wonder if I was enough. Not that I hadn't always wondered. But this—this show of absolute fearlessness—was awe inspiring. No, more than that. I couldn't think of the word. I knew several languages and I couldn't think of one word that would help me describe the emotion that wrought my being.

I felt an extra wave of pressure from Bella, which made Jasper curse in his mind. He couldn't control Bella's emotions when she was like this. The only defense that we had from her was her own control. And she was barely keeping it in check.

The Volturi stood, unmoving. My mind reading ability kept my head swirling with the thoughts of my family, our allies and the Volturi. It was a mental battle that no one would win.

"Have it your way, then," Bella whispered and I could feel it then too, the subtle slip of her control.

"WAIT!" Aro roared, as I closed my eyes against what I knew was coming.

**A/N- OH! You thought it would all be resolved so easily? Fat Chance. So review… REVIEW! Because… yeah… I'm going to need some inspiration. **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to take this long to write this chapter. I've been so busy with school lately… **

**So without further adieu, here is the next chapter. Just don't forget that I don't own Twilight.**

Bella's POV

The force was so strong I felt myself being smashed back into Edward. He was so stunned from the blow he stumbled back away from me. That action in itself made me sorry that I had granted any mercy.

"See? You are already listening to us," Marcus smiled in satisfaction.

I growled, stalking towards those arrogant vampires. With every step I took towards them, they took a short glide back, until their backs were against the cold stone walls and the door. They could feel the pressure radiating off of me. I knew they could.

"Let's get something straight," I narrowed my eyes at them, daring to step even closer, "I am a pretty compassionate person. At least until I started dealing with you—and you lock us up… and keep us waiting around here. I'm so sorry that we thought we would try to protect ourselves and Seamus." I wasn't sorry at all and they knew it, "But I will not be bullied any longer. We wanted peace and you wanted war. Well, you got it. And you lost. Get over it. And get out of my way."

I moved to reach for the door knob. Even though the pressure was a warning, Marcus did not remove himself from the door's surface.

"I don't know how you got to be in power anyways," I muttered, "A contact mind reader and a relationship gauge. What good does that do? Why do so many listen to you so eagerly? Have you not seen that the world we live in now gets rid of the old in favor of the new?"

I knew it was just plain disrespect that made me grit the words out, but it was enough. They were stunned that I would ask such a question and afraid enough that they moved back away from me. They looked fearful that I might really decide I wanted to rule.

"Let's go," I heard Carlisle's soft, even voice beckon to everyone. He obviously realized we had a small window and we should take it, before the Volturi tried to detain us longer. Or before I spiraled out of control.

I pulled the wooden door open and a small smile found its way to my face, despite my disastrous mood. We were facing the west and the sun had set, leaving only a myriad of orange and pink clouds hanging in its wake. It was a beautiful sight. Cleansing. Even though I was within inches of the Volturi, I felt the age old promise of the day being done and that a new one would soon arrive.

We had no time to revel in the feeling, though. Henry shot out, leading us into the Italian countryside. Without turning to look back we were running away from Volterra.

Edward appeared by my side soon after we were all running, claiming my hand in his as we ran. I was suddenly very thankful for his presence. How solid it felt to have him with me.

I felt a little lightheaded, though, thinking about the conversation we would have in our near future. I knew he was angry with me because of what I had offered to give up, but I would have done it again. It would have kept him safe and away from the Volturi's influence. 

When we arrived at the private airstrip, Henry was able to persuade the pilot to take us first to Ireland and then to Massachusetts. We boarded the plane without much hesitancy, eager to be away from the Volturi and the intimidating façade of Volterra.

Upon entering the plane's cabin, everyone oriented themselves around each other. Jacob, Quil and Sam went to sit in the back. I sat a few rows ahead with Edward. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice sat in the row in front of us, which left Esme, Carlisle and Seamus in the front seat. Henry had stayed in the cockpit to keep the pilot's mind on the plane trip. It seemed that all of us were suffering from the aftermath. The cabin was so quiet, once we boarded the plane, I almost felt bad breathing.

Then I realized something. The pressure was gone. I had been living with it for almost a week, so I had gotten used to it. But I suddenly felt so free. And the tension that accompanied the pressure eased from my body. In that moment I melted against Edward's side, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"It's about time." He chuckled darkly.

"What do you mean?" I tried to whisper. The cabin still was so quiet.

"You've been unnecessarily tense ever since we left Volterra. I felt the pressure ease even as we passed through the stone doorway." He explained placing an arm protectively around my shoulders.

At that, I settled myself more comfortably, looping my arms around his waist. I felt his sigh and his lips grazed my forehead.

"Don't get too comfortable," Edward warned, "We still have a lot to talk about." His voice didn't sound angry, necessarily. It was more perturbed. I knew what was coming, but I tried to play dumb.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up into his face, still hoping that by some miracle the brain washing idea I'd had would be taken away from his remembrance.

"Bella, how do you think that you could ever wipe yourself from my memory? That you could do this to all of us? How?" His expression was crumpled, crushed. The words pierced me straight through. But I had to tell him the truth. I had to make him understand that I was protecting him—not trying to hurt him.

"I wanted you to be in the least amount of pain as possible. If you didn't remember me, you wouldn't try to come back and make waves with them. You could go back to how you had been living before you met me," I murmured, burying my face back into his shoulder, "Are you angry that I tried?"

He paused for a long time. I knew he was trying to process my question. Trying to gauge his emotions. Probably making sure he could answer me honestly.

"Truthfully, I don't think I am. I think it would have been impossible to forget you." I could feel his head shaking back and forth slightly, "Henry is only able to manipulate my mind. I think my heart and my spirit would have missed you. My arms, that hold you more often than not, would have felt empty. They would have ached to hold you. I have known true happiness and I will never forget that feeling. I would have been incomplete. Before I met you, I thought that I was complete in and of myself. But knowing you continues to make me see differently—feel differently about my own existence. I can tell you with complete certainty that I would have come searching for you, even if I had not known who you were or where to find you. I wouldn't have stopped until you were mine again."

He shifted me around until he could see my face.

"You are my constant. No matter where we are or what situation we're in, you will always be the one thing in my life that never changes. I know that here," he took my hand and placed it over his heart, "It has nothing to do with memory or reasoning. It has to do with the emotion that I feel at your very presence. The clench in my stomach when you come close. The fire I feel when you touch me. There is nothing that could take that away. Not even Jasper." He smiled softly, "Of course I'm not angry. I love you. And I just might have done the same thing if I had been in your situation."

We were silent for some moments, as I processed all he had said. I could easily understand. I, too, would have felt incomplete if it had been Edward staying behind with the Volturi and not me. My heart ached at the thought, just as it ached at the idea of sending him away.

"I want to know something, though." His voice cut through my thoughts and the silence.

I nodded, not sure I would actually be able to speak.

"How could you do it?" His face was contorted in a horrible kind of awe, "How could you just send us all away?"

It was the question that I had been asking myself. How would I have survived? How would I have coped, being away from everyone? It hurt just thinking about it. Considering the possibility. If Jacob hadn't showed up—I would probably be separated from all of them.

"I don't know," I finally whispered, closing my eyes on the tears that I felt flow down my face, "At the time it was easy because I had one bad choice and one really bad choice. The really bad choice was letting the family feed on those humans. I know that it would have been detrimental to this family's relationships. I didn't want to see the family break apart because of—of what might have happened. That was worse. I knew you could survive with your family. You'd done it for years before you met me." I managed a shrug, "It was an easy choice to make in the grand scheme of things, but it was a difficult choice, because it meant never seeing you again."

"Oh Bella," Edward whispered, suddenly holding me in a tight embrace, "You never should have been placed in such a position."

I laid there like that, comfortably settled in Edward's lap by then, just trying to sort out everything. Then I felt Edward's cool lips trace a line across my forehead and down my jaw. I opened my eyes and he took the opportunity to kiss my nose and my cheeks.

"I hope that you know for the next few years you're never getting out of my sight," his voice was teasing.

"I imagined," I nodded, feigning seriousness. He grinned and it broke my heart, thinking about how I had almost lost him and that radiant smile of his. My face must have shown my forlorn emotion, because he suddenly frowned.

"Are you unhappy that you'll be shackled to my side for an insurmountable amount of time?" His voice was still teasing, but he seemed so unsure, suddenly.

"No. It's not a punishment in the least," I shook my head, "It's that I almost lost that smile." I reached up to touch the corner of his mouth. His lips instinctively kissed my fingertips. My hands traced his smooth face and toyed with his hair, placing a fire into his eyes that I was all too familiar with.

"Bella," he groaned, gently pushing me into the seat beside him, "Don't start things that you can't finish."

"Who said we can't finish them?" I grinned evilly, leaning to kiss his pout.

"I do," Emmett popped up from the seat in front of us.

"And me," I heard Jacob's voice drift up from the back. It had more than a scowl in it.

"How inappropriate can you be, Bella?" Alice's voice was playfully disgusted.

"This inappropriate," I laughed, planning what Edward and I would do as soon as we were back at our own house.

"Oh, geez. Stop it." Alice whined, seeing my future, "It's bad enough when Rosalie and Emmett plan stuff like that and I have to see it. But now you? I am appalled."

"Bella, you are cruel." Edward whispered in my ear.

"All in a day's work, I suppose." I shrugged, "As if you weren't helping me gross Alice out."

"Just for payback," he admitted sheepishly, "There were all those years that I had to endure the thoughts of my family when I had no mate."

**A/N- Look forward to the Epilogue, which will be written in Edward's POV. He always delivers the wrap up better for some reason. **

**Oh… and I wrote a little one shot called "The Unfortunate Event." I have a feeling that most of you have read it, but I thought I would plug it for a moment… just because it's new.**

**And REVIEW! I still have the epilogue to do… and your reviews might hinge upon whether or not there is a truly happy ending. **


	18. Chapter 17: Edward's POV

**A/N- I've decided that the last chapter needs to be in Edward's POV too. So I hope you enjoy this. I'm sorry to stall out the Epilogue, but I'm trying to decide which way I want to go with that. **

**I don't own Twilight… I just don't. I'm sorry it has to be that way. But I do borrow much. So… enjoy Edward. **

Edward's POV

Bella slammed into me. She had held her powers in and because of that she was taking the blow, instead of the Volturi. I stumbled backwards away from Bella by the sheer force that had crashed her body into mine.

"See? You are already listening to us." Marcus' voice rang steady. He had never thought she would try to blow them up. None of them did.

They were seriously underestimating Bella. She had said she would never use her power against the Volturi's leagues, and yet, she had destroyed most of them. And they had believed her. She was basically holding Henry hostage in our group to keep him from becoming a source of help for the three elder vampires.

I stood unsurprised as Bella made strong strides in the Volturi's direction. The Volturi seemed to dance back, pressing their backs against the wall.

"Let's get something straight," I heard Bella's voice. It was a frightening sound. So melodious, and yet so horrifying. "I am a pretty compassionate person. At least until I started dealing with you—and you lock us up… and keep us waiting around here. I'm so sorry that we thought we would try to protect ourselves and Seamus." Her tone held a note of sarcasm, alluding to the fact that she wasn't sorry at all, "But I will not be bullied any longer. We wanted peace and you wanted war. Well, you got it. And you lost. Get over it. And get out of my way."

There were few days that I feared Bella in any way. She was usually the image of peace and tranquility. But that day, as she faced the Volturi with her unending strength and anger, she was both beautiful and terrifying. It seemed as though my family and our allies believed the same, giving Bella her space to negotiate.

I tried to focus on her. She had her hand on the handle of the door, but she was obviously still having words with Marcus. He wouldn't move. Even from my spot, thirty feet or so from Bella, I could feel the intensity of her gift radiating from her. She was ready to explode.

It drove me insane not knowing what she was saying. My hearing failed me. But then, I heard her words echoed in my family's mind.

_Have you not seen that the world we live in now gets rid of the old in favor of the new?_

I was shocked. I knew it would work because she was questioning their ability to rule. I inwardly rejoiced when I saw Aro, Marcus and Caius back away from her and the door. They were all committed to their self preservation. They still craved the power that ruling the vampire world give them. I could see their minds already planning to build their army again. And I suddenly saw a move in their future.

That was from Alice. She must have shot that to me. The Volturi were moving from Volterra. It looked like they were moving to Russia. An interesting place for them. Maybe less conspicuous though.

"Let's go," Carlisle's soft voice was enough to propel everyone forward. Only Jasper and I knew how astonished he was. How in awe of Bella he seemed to be. This experience had severely tilted everyone's view of Bella. Not in a bad way, necessarily.

I was especially interested in how Emmett was viewing her at that moment. There seemed to be an overflow of respect. And then I heard the music and saw Bella in his mind, riding a horse and wearing a leather corset. Like Xena the warrior princess.

I smacked him upside the head and immediately the image dissolved. He grinned rather evilly as I passed him to catch up with Bella.

_Hold that in your head all the way home, Edward. _Emmett's thoughts taunted me. I tried to ignore him.

The air around Bella eased as soon as she opened the door. Dimmed light flowed in around her, painting her pale features orange and pink. She was beautiful. I couldn't help but be struck by it every time my eyes fell on her.

Henry's mind signaled to me that we were heading towards the airstrip. He only waited seconds for my small nod before he shot out into the Italian countryside, leaving us to follow. I grabbed Bella's hand and matched her step as she broke into a sprint, following after Henry.

This brief dash to the airstrip gave me a chance to assess Bella. Her hand gripped mine tightly and even though we were moving at a lighting fast pace, I could feel the tension in her body. The pressure may have receded, but she was still so apprehensive.

I grimaced, knowing exactly why she was anxious. She had almost taken our memories of her away. She was afraid that we might be angry with her.

And with good reason, a small part of me answered. I could not imagine trying to forget Bella. Everything within me ached at the thought. How would I exist? How would I breathe? How would I even manage the strength to get out of bed in the morning? The anxiety tripped my heart a bit and I grabbed the handle of my emotions. There was no time for me to have a panic attack.

My mind turned over the complexity of the situation as we moved along. What would have happened if my mind had been wiped of memories of Bella? I looked into Henry's mind, trying to get a clear understanding of what he might have done to disband our memories. His gift was subtle. And I understood that while I may have been able to look into his mind at his current thoughts, I couldn't detect a hint of his gift in use. Like that was part of the charade.

I felt suddenly angry with Henry and Bella. Her for thinking up something that was so dangerous to our relationship and him for going along with it. I could have lost her… and I wouldn't have known.

Jasper shot me a concerned look when we came to a halt.

_Edward, there's no use in feeling like this. She's right beside you. There's no reason to be in such a panic._ Jasper's thoughts and an extra burst of calm enveloped me. He was right, of course, and his emotion controlling powers kept me from feeling that anxiety.

I wasn't surprised that Henry got us immediately on the Volturi's private plane. I was surprised that he hadn't used an ounce of hypnosis in order to do so. On the contrary, he had convinced the human pilot that he was escorting us all back to our homes, which was actually protocol for him.

I glanced at Jacob and his pack mates as we boarded the plane. They had been strangely quiet during this entire episode, allowing Bella to take the lead. When I glanced into their minds, I realized it was because they knew they were in over their head. They were wondering what contact with this many vampires would do to their life expectancy. How much longer would they be werewolves because of their immense amounts of contact with our kind? How would they get home, knowing that the Volturi's plane would probably only take them as far as Massachusetts? There was plenty for them to ponder.

My own family's thoughts were varied. Carlisle and Esme were both worried about our reputation in our small New England town. They were both thinking of our next move. From Alice's mind I saw conflicting images of where we would end up. Bella and I would be together, married and in a small town in Europe. Then we would be back into our American high school student status, forced to wear our wedding rings on chains around our necks.

Jasper was finally fully relaxed, most of the inner turmoil of the day gone. Emmett and Rosalie were both planning their escape from the family for awhile. I could understand. Bella and I were quite a handful to deal with. I had entertained thoughts of us taking a small vacation ourselves, before returning to the family.

Seamus was actually considering offering Henry a place to stay. He saw that Henry would never be comfortable with Bella around. He didn't have the promise of her love the way the rest of us did.

Deciding everyone was seemingly occupied, I turned my full focus on Bella. She was still rigid. Her hand clasped mine with an intensity that made me wish to hear her thoughts. Yearn to hear them, even. It seemed unhealthy for her to feel so anxious. Jasper was internally shaking his own head at her seeming ability to block his influence.

I had been focused so much on the intensity of her unease that when she suddenly leaned against me, comfortably molding into my side, I was a bit surprised.

"It's about time," I murmured, a deep rumble of a laugh bubbling up from my chest.

"What do you mean?" She asked. She glanced around apologetically and I realized that she thought the cabin was quiet. My mind reading abilities made me immune to such a notion.

"You've been unnecessarily tense ever since we left Volterra. I felt the pressure ease even as we passed through the stone doorway," I hugged her more tightly against me. Her arms found their way around my waist. I almost sighed in pleasure having her so close. I pressed a kiss to her brow, and then rearranged my thoughts. There was still plenty that needed to be addressed.

"Don't get too comfortable," I tried to sound gruff, "We still have a lot to talk about."

"What do you mean?" She was trying to be nonchalant. I could hear it in her voice that she knew what I was talking about, thought.

Having Bella in my arms lessened my anxiety about the entire situation. I still had too many emotions to count, though, and I needed answers. I needed to understand why she had wanted to send us away. As did everyone else in the cabin.

"Bella, how do you think you could ever wipe yourself from my memory? That you could do this to all of us? How?" It was physically impossible to contain my wounded heart. My entire expression tightened as I looked down into her pale face. The face I had almost lost. Her expression was a mixture of distress and shame.

I couldn't hear one thought among our group, and I suddenly knew that they, too, were on the edge of their seat, waiting for Bella's explanation.

"I wanted you to be in the least amount of pain as possible. If you didn't remember me, you wouldn't try to come back and make waves with them. You could go back to how you had been living before you met me," she buried her face into my shoulder, giving me a few moments to allow the livid expression to cross my face. "Are you angry that I tried?"

Her voice shook so badly, that my anger dissipated immediately. I tried to work an answer out in my head that would fully explain the extent of my emotions. I imagined life without Bella—life before Bella. Before she walked into that warm classroom, changing our lives forever. Everything seemed completely meaningless. My previous medical degrees. My success as a musician. My entire life, it seemed. I don't know why I hadn't missed her before.

And then it dawned on me. I tried to imagine a future with my mind washed of the memories we'd made in the last two decades. And I couldn't. Because Bella hadn't just affected my mind and memories. She had affected all of me.

"Truthfully, I don't think I am," I shook my head, "I think it would have been impossible to forget you. Henry is only able to manipulate my mind. I think my heart and my spirit would have missed you. My arms, that hold you more often than not, would have felt empty. They would have ached to hold you. I have known true happiness and I will never forget that feeling. I would have been incomplete. Before I met you, I thought that I was complete in and of myself. But knowing you continues to make me see differently—feel differently about my own existence. I can tell you with complete certainty that I would have come searching for you, even if I had not known who you were or where to find you. I wouldn't have stopped until you were mine again."

I moved around until I could see her. I wanted to see her face. To make her understand.

"You are my constant. No matter where we are or what situation we're in, you will always be the one thing in my life that never changes. I know that here," I placed her hand over my weak, beating heart, "It has nothing to do with memory or reasoning. It has to do with the emotion that I feel at your very presence. The clench in my stomach when you come close. The fire I feel when you touch me. There is nothing that could take that away. Not even Jasper." I smiled down at the angel in my arms, "Of course I'm not angry. I love you. And I just might have done the same thing if I had been in your situation."

She remained silent, staring at me. Assessing everything I had told her. It didn't matter how long I had to wait—to allow her to take in everything I had said.

My mind buzzed with the thoughts of those around me. Jacob's mind, in particular, was in conflict. He understood to some extent how I felt. I knew that. But he surprised me by wondering how Bella could have actually separated herself from us. From her family. Images of Bella arose from Jacob's mind. They were all clips of how she had acted during those months we had gone from Forks. Her arms were always folded over her, as if they were the only things keeping her together.

I almost shouted at Jacob to stop. It was painful for me to see those memories. To know that I had actually caused that. Jacob must have realized his mistake because suddenly he had snatched all those thoughts away and turned his attention to some problem in La Push. His ponderings did prompt my own.

We had proven throughout the years that we couldn't live without each other. That dark six months. Bella's fight for my recovery from a comatose state. My meltdown when I thought Noah had Bella. Several years of schooling where we were attached at the waist. Bella had even moved herself to the hole of a town where I had to intern for medical school. We thrived on each other. How could she think either of us would survive such a separation?

"I want to know something, though," I spoke aloud, making Bella jump slightly. She only nodded for me to go on, her face looking terrified at what might happen next.

"How could you do it? How could you send us away?" I tried to be as calm as I could, but my confounded expression probably told her everything she needed to know.

It upset me to see tears glaze her eyes. I suddenly wished we didn't have such a rapt audience around us.

"I don't know," Bella whispered. Her eyes closed allowing two tears to blaze a trail down her face and I was suddenly sorry I had asked, "At the time it was easy because I had one bad choice and one really bad choice. The really bad choice was letting the family feed on those humans. I know that it would have been detrimental to this family's relationships. I didn't want to see the family break apart because of—of what might have happened. That was worse. I knew you could survive with your family. You'd done it for years before you met me. It was an easy choice to make in the grand scheme of things, but it was a difficult choice, because it meant never seeing you again."

"Oh Bella," I couldn't help it. I gathered her closer into my arms, not wanting a centimeter of space between us, "You never should have been placed in such a position."

Around us my family's thoughts roared indignantly. They agreed with me. We all knew what had gone on—what Bella had been asked to do—but when she put it like that, as if our entire family would fall apart because of the taste of human blood, the Volturi became our complete enemy. They knew that we were likely to break off into smaller covens because of the territorial instincts that kept most carnivorous vampires from joining into larger groups. And they knew that they would win in some way, no matter what Bella chose.

I gazed down into Bella's face. Her eyes were still closed and she seemed to be sorting things out. There was a crease in her brow and I deigned to smooth it out. I allowed my lips to trace a line from her brow all the way down her jaw. When she opened her eyes, I kissed her cheeks and her nose. A small fire built in my senses.

"I hope you know for the next few years you're never getting out of my sight," I smirked down at her. She looked so small and childlike, curled up in my lap.

"I imagined," her serious face made me smile wider. But her face fell and then so did mine.

"Are you unhappy that you'll be shackled to my side for an insurmountable amount of time?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't be, but wondering what would make her look so sad.

"No, it's not punishment in the least," she shook her head back and forth, smiling wanly—sadly, "It's that I almost lost that smile." She reached up to touch my mouth. I kissed her fingers. She was so beautiful, even when she seemed so sad.

Bella's fingers traced my face and twisted into my hair. A fire blazed from the top of my head down into my toes. She was seducing me without even realizing it. I saw the twinkle in her eyes. Maybe she did.

"Bella, don't start things that you can't finish," I placed her in the seat beside me. I knew I was pouting. But I couldn't help it.

"Who said we can't finish them?" Her smile lengthened into a full blown grin and she leaned forward to kiss me.

"I do," Emmett's face appeared over the seat in a grimace. He was sending pictures of him and Rosalie dangerously close to doing something I didn't want to see.

"And me," I heard Jacob chime in. There was a string of expletives running through his mind.

"How inappropriate can you be, Bella?" Alice's mind was full of visions of our futures. They looked promising. She was angry that we'd interrupted her reverie.

"This inappropriate," Bella laughed and unbidden glimpses of our near future glided across my mind. Pictures of Bella and I sprawled across the four poster bed back in our own home. And in the kitchen. And the living room.

"Oh, geez. Stop it." Alice's whine was pitiful, "It's bad enough when Rosalie and Emmett plan stuff like that and I have to see it. But now you? I'm appalled."

"Bella, you are cruel," I whispered in Bella's ear. I was suddenly making my own plans.

"All in a day's work, I suppose," she shrugged her shoulders slightly, "As if you weren't helping me gross Alice out."

And I was. But I'd had to endure days and nights of all the couples' rendezvous playing through my mind.

"Just for payback," I laughed, "There were all those years I had to endure the thoughts of my family when I had no mate."

Let them think about that few a few hundred years.

**A/N- Woo! Ok… Edward definitely extended two pages further than Bella. How did this happen? I hope you enjoyed it. The epilogue will be along sometime in the near future. I wanted to get this done and out though. **

**Reviews are the way to go people. They get you to the end point. You do want to know what happens to our little family, don't you? **


	19. Epilogue

**A/N- PRESENTING… the EPILOGUE! I'm so sorry it took so long. It was difficult to flesh out how I wanted this to go. I know that I wrote a few one shots on the way too, so I hope that you enjoyed those little time outs from Constant. **

**I do not own Twilight… darn it. But I do own all these plots, Seamus, Pherona, and Henry and some of the ideas spawned from all this. So no stealing please. **

_Henry didn't stay with us after all. When we arrived in Ireland, Seamus offered Henry a place in his own household and Henry accepted. Edward told me that it was probably better. Henry would always fear me in a way that the Cullens never had to._

_Once we were in Massachusetts, I was saddened to have to say goodbye to Jacob. He and I would probably never see each other again. Once they were back in La Push, they would be away from us and regain their control, sending them into remission. I was grieved to think that someday Jacob would die. And it pierced me in a way words cannot explain to know that he was still alone. That he had never found someone. _

_Our entire family ended up moving to Germany. It would have been disaster to stay in New England much longer anyways. Carlisle and Edward's practice was getting to be well known and in any case, we didn't need the exposure. _

_So we are at the end of our tale. For those reading anyways. I can't tell you what will happen in the future. I don't know myself. But I'm certain that whatever I do, Edward will be my constant. I would have it no other way._

I smiled down at the last words. It had taken Bella years to finish our story. To finish writing about that portion of our lives. But as much as I hated it at the beginning, I would cherish the finished product for the rest of my days.

To see our story through her eyes was awe inspiring. To hear her thoughts and to have her interpret mine. It was almost unfathomable. After all those years of silence from her mind, I was finally getting to see what she had really been thinking.

After the first time I read through it, I began composing a piano piece to compliment it. The text had raised emotions in me that I hadn't revisited since the first and second year I had known Bella. The complicated feelings seem to revive and bring new music out of me. I had worked on it an entire year before I gave it to Bella for Christmas.

Her voice broke through my thoughts and I was pulled back to the present, sitting on the couch in our Berlin townhouse.

"Edward, how many times are you going to read that?" Bella laughed, plucking the large manuscript from my hands. After she finished it, she had felt a little embarrassed about it. Not that it wasn't good writing. But that someone would be able to know her inner most workings during that time in her life. It made her feel vulnerable and exposed.

"I'm starting to see your thoughts more clearly," I teased, snatching it back from her, "Like right now," I placed the book on my forehead and pretended to gather my information from it, "I know that you're thinking about how much you don't want to go shopping with Alice."

"Oh please, like you have to be able to read my mind to know that," she made a face, plopping down beside me.

"Alright, that's a given." I agreed, nodding. I leaned over, not able to keep myself from kissing her. From having some sort of contact.

"So are you going with us?" She asked, with a hopeful expression, wrapping her arms around me.

"Hmm.. getting within a five mile radius of Berlin's shopping district with Alice," I paused, as if I was considering it, "I'm going to pass." I would never admit it, but she could probably coax me into doing anything when she had her arms around me.

"But who is going to protect me?"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Bella, I don't have to worry about your safety." I stifled a snort, "I'm the one who would end up carrying a million bags and boxes while you and Alice shopped."

We bantered back and forth. I made several excuses while she countered them. I knew I would end up going. I would go anywhere with her. I just liked giving her a hard time.

As we were leaving the house, I glanced back at the large manuscript sitting on our coffee table. That book was more than just the story of our lives. It contained the glue that held us together. It symbolized the strength and knowledge that we had gained. We were almost an entirely different couple than we had been at the beginning of our story, and yet, strikingly the same.

I only hoped that our future adventures would be less eventful than the ones contained in those pages.

**A/N- I want to take this chance to thank all of you. This has been a crazy ride. I know that some of you know this, but I want you all to know that Constant is the last installment of the WOE series. I'm not completely sure of what my next move is. I love writing Edward and Bella, but there are a few people who have encouraged me to write some of my own stuff. If that happens, I will make sure that I post it up somewhere in a livejournal community or something so you guys can get a hold of it and read it, if you feel so inclined. **

**Overall I have over 600 reviews for the WOE series. I'm very pleased with the response. It's that type of response that might make me come back in a month or so and begin a new set of stories. I need time to think. Time to generate new ideas and plots for a new series. **

**Until then, I am taking requests for outtakes and one shots pertaining to the WOE series. I have a few already, but maybe there is a POV or situation that you want me to elaborate on. I'm personally interested in Edward and Bella's college years. We kind of skipped over them. So I may do a few of those, too.**

**So, when you review this story give me a few ideas. I'll probably post all one shots here at the end of Constant. So look for those. **

**Again, thank you all for all your support and reading. I've been writing this series since July and I've enjoyed every moment. You guys are awesome. **


	20. Outtake 1: Edward's Birthday

**A/N- Hey guys… sorry this has taken so long…. I'm really only posting this up because it's my birthday today (10-13) and I thought it was appropriate. **

**Watch out for more college Bella/Edward moments from me in the coming weeks. **

I was secretly glad that we Cullens didn't try to celebrate birthdays, with Bella's eighteenth being the one exception. I was over a hundred years old, and although I didn't feel it, my mind's capacity far exceeded my youthful appearance.

On this day, it was normal for me to think about my earlier birthdays. I hated not remembering much from the years of my youth and I often fantasized about the parties my parents threw me and the gifts I received.

I was daydreaming one of these imaginary parties when I heard Bella yawn. Her expressive brown eyes opened up, obliterating any thoughts of fantasy birthdays. This was my real birthday and celebrating with her was better than any dreamed up idea I could create.

"Hey, birthday boy," she smiled sleepily up at me, "When did you wake up?"

"I watched the sunrise," I nodded towards the window. We were in the outskirts of Boston, in the remodeled farmhouse house Esme had claimed perfect. Bella and I had an east facing window, looking over the bay the house was situated on. The sunrise had been marvelous and I often loved watching it.

"Well, that sounds very constructive," she laughed softly, and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face into my chest. A familiar warmth spread through me. I knew that Bella had been with me for my last few birthdays, but every time I woke up with her beside me, I didn't care how old I was.

"So what are we going to do today?" She asked, her speech muffled by my t-shirt.

"Well, I was planning on staying in bed all day," I chuckled. I hadn't planned anything. But if I could lay there with her, it would be a good day.

"You can't stay in bed all day," she looked up at me and scowled, "We have to go do something exciting. Let's—hmm…."

I watched as she contemplated and planned our day. Our first year at Boston College had been uneventful. I had even encouraged Bella to join a literature organization that discussed her favorite novels. She met with them twice a week to argue the finer points of _Wuthering Heights _and the like. I loved picking her up from those meetings because she was usually red with anger and her passion for those trivial little books brought a fire into her eyes. She was always so beautiful.

I had begun another round of pre-med studies myself. Most of the courses were a bore to me and I only went to the ones where attendance was required. Most of my time was spent learning new practices to pass on to Carlisle.

"You're not even listening," Bella's voice brought me from the reverie of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, "What are you planning?"

"Well, first thing's first. We have to get you up and out of the brown throw up pants." Bella scowled, "I hate those things."

"Yes, I believe I recall you and Emmett trying to give me an early birthday present a few days ago," I scowled right back, "Really, Bella. Burning my pants? What's to stop me from buying more?"

"We could go to Jamaica Pond and stroll around. Or we could go rent a swan at the Public Garden." Bella tried to divert my attention.

"Or we could stay here and lay around all day," I interjected once again.

"Edward, you are becoming a true college student. I had never pegged you as being such a bum!" Bella's facial expression was too much. I burst into laughter.

"Is there anything wrong with wanting to be lazy today? Do I always have to be so productive?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"Productive! Since we've been out of school we haven't been constructive in the least!" Bella frowned.

"Oh, did I just hear you say we?" I smirked, "Are you getting bored with being a lady of leisure?"

We had been particularly inactive. Much to our joint horror, Alice had dragged us out once or twice to shop. Otherwise, we had practically been hermits.

"Yes." Bella's firm answer made me sigh in resignation.

"Can we at least go do something... that's not boring?" I let my eyes laze over her face, gauging her reaction.

"Like what?" she asked, her face completely void.

"Be creative. Is there something going on in Boston that would keep us busy all day?" I asked.

"I don't know. I really don't keep up with that stuff." She shrugged.

"I wonder if Esme would know." I mused and concentrated on finding her mind. When I was sure she was not completely occupied I quipped a little louder, "Esme, anything big going on in Boston today?"

_I believe there is a book festival. Both you and Bella would enjoy that. Happy birthday, by the way. _

"Esme says that there's a book festival." I relayed to Bella.

"That's perfect!" Bella jumped out of bed, away from me. I reached to grab her, but she was too fast for me. She ran into our closet and was back in seconds with a wad of clothes, "You can stay in bed for as long as it takes for me to shower, but that's it."

"And if I chain myself to the bed?" I asked. I realized my very unfortunate mistake when a fire lit her eyes and a blush crept into her cheeks.

"Do we even want to go there?" she bit her lip and tried not to smile.

"Hmm… it _is_ my birthday." I pretended to consider it. Bella looked completely baffled.

"Edward Anthony Cullen," Bella finally sputtered out.

"Alright, alright. I'm getting up." I rolled out of bed, "We'll go to the book festival for my birthday."

**A/N- Reviews are good. **


	21. Outtake 2: Birth of the Throw Up Pants

**A/N- Ah… the brown throw up pants… enjoy….. **

Going back to college in the 21st century was an interesting adventure.

Both times I'd been to university there was an expectation of student conduct. At the men's college I first went to, we were expected to wear coat and tie every day to class. There were curfews and schedules to be kept. Every moment of our days were spent in diligent study or occupied with a school organization's worries. The only relief I ever got was the fact that I didn't live on-campus. I could always go home to Esme and Carlisle.

My second experience in school was a bit different. The Vietnam War was going on at the time. There were hippie activist groups and a blossoming youth culture. Still, the atmosphere in classes was professional and students conducted themselves with dignity.

When I arrived at Boston College the first day, I'd dressed demurely in khakis and a white polo shirt, knowing that the culture had changed once again, but when I attended my first class, I was baffled at the appearance of the other students.

Several came in wearing basketball shorts or saggy sweatpants and t-shirts proclaiming old high school rivalries or campus events. Other students were dressed in ratty jeans and tank tops. There were even those who looked like they had just rolled out of bed, sporting cartoon laden pajama pants and mismatched tops. I felt very out of place.

Not that we'd ever made much of an effort to fit in. But this was Bella's first college experience and just like high school, I wanted her to envelope herself into its society. Make friends. Explore possibilities. I would be a part of that experience, and I wanted to play the part well.

On the third day of school, when I realized that I would be waiting two hours for Bella while she was in one of her classes, I immediately planned to make a quick shopping trip. My wardrobe included very little lounge clothing. And Alice was in Russia with Jasper.

I drove quickly to the closest department store, glad for the diversion. I actually liked shopping when it was just me browsing. Alice would have insisted I try everything on within a quarter mile radius.

I walked to the sports and leisure section. I wasn't completely out of my league there, but because there was barely a problem with body temperature and I more often than not hid my whiter than white skin, I was a bit unfamiliar. The basketball shorts baffled me the most. How did they play when the length of the shorts suggested a hindrance of aerodynamics?

And those baggy sweatpants. I despised the fuzzy material myself. I was barely ever bothered by the feel of anything, but having the heavy, bulky material against my skin made me uncomfortable. That's why I always chose clingy, light fabric and jeans.

I almost turned around and walked back out of the store. Why did it matter what I wore to class? Or on campus? So what if I looked more like a professor than a student? No one would approach me as such, because of my youthful appearance. More than likely, I could continue to remain somewhat anonymous with the students and a favorite with the teachers.

But I would be joining organizations just like I had been encouraging Bella. I would have to fit in. If I dressed in the uber-business casual I was used to, I might put off some of the students. Descriptors like "arrogant" and "pompous" came to mind.

I turned towards the pajama section with resolve. At least if I bought a few demure looking sets of pajama pants, I could wear them to class with grey sweaters and t-shirts. The only pajamas that I owned to date were the pair that Bella had bought me with the express idea of me sleeping in them. I usually didn't. Stripping down to my boxers was far easier and less time consuming. So she had taken them over. Adorable creature that she was.

_Wow… who is he? Why aren't there more guys like that at school? He is just… hot. I wonder if he would think I was forward if I asked _him_ out._ I heard one girl's brazen appraisal of me. My mind reading abilities struck again, shaking me from the mental image of Bella flouncing around in the too-big-for-her plaid pajama pants.

I tried to ignore her thoughts. But she began an erotic fantasy with me starring in the daydream. What had I ever done to her?

I tried to focus on the task at hand and picked three sets of pajama pants. They were solid colored jersey knit. Very sensible. Then I skirted around the girl with the shameless thoughts and towards the front of the store.

I looked at my watch and realized I'd wasted almost an hour and fifteen minutes in my search for college normalcy. I would need to be back at campus pretty soon to pick up Bella.

Then I spotted them. The pants that changed my life. I had never seen something look so complex and artistic. They were brown. Well, that's a vast understatement. They were more than just brown. They had a brown undertone. The foreground of the material was a rainbow of jewel toned colors swirled around in a creative pattern. I was mesmerized, trying to figure out if they actually made shapes or if they just were just there to dip and swirl with the fabric.

When I touched them, they felt like heaven. It was jersey material. I could feel that. But it was a wonderful blend. Almost silky to the touch. And yet, they screamed comfort. And function. They were perfect.

I selected my size and placed them over my arm with the other three pairs I had selected. I felt like I had really accomplished my goal as I checked out and then headed back towards Boston College's campus. I was fairly tempted to change into my newfound favorite pants, but decided against it in the end. They would probably look ridiculous with the white button up shirt I was wearing.

"Edward," Bella teased as she slid in the car, "Where have you been?" She had been sitting on a bench where I told her I would meet her.

"Shopping." I admitted freely, still very much satisfied with myself and my shopping trip. She stared over at me in surprise.

"For what?" she wrinkled her nose at me.

"For college attire." I was being vague. I knew it.

"You already have a closet full of clothing. I almost can't fit my own wardrobe in with yours." She complained.

"I told you that Esme had drawn up plans to extend our closet, but no," I winked over at her, "You weren't having any of it. You barely let her paint our room and put a bed in it."

"I don't need much." She shrugged, "But you're diverting my attention. What were you shopping for?"

"You were diverting your own attention, thank you, and I told you. I was shopping for college attire." I sighed.

"Why do you need clothing?" she asked, "Is there some dress code I haven't picked up? Or are you rushing a fraternity and you can't discuss it with me? I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Edward." There was a note of concern in her voice.

"No, I'm not rushing a fraternity." I rolled my eyes, "But have you seen how people dress on campus? And do you see what I'm wearing?" I motioned down to the button up and dark blue jeans, "I look more like a teacher than a student."

"I think you look—amazing. Handsome," she chuckled and ran her hand over the lapel of my shirt, "What do you mean, have I seen what people wear? Blue jeans and t-shirts. So wear a t-shirt with those pants instead of a button up."

"It's worse than that. I have seen states of undress I'd never imagined before. There are no dress codes here. Did you know that?" I asked, "And people just come to class in whatever they find on their dorm room floors. It's actually disgusting. I mean, how often does a person do laundry around here? I went shopping for pajama pants. If I'm going to be a college student I might as well fit in some, at least."

"You have pajama pants," Bella frowned.

"One pair that you bought me while we were still in Canada." I reminded her, "And then you took them over."

"Because you weren't wearing them!" she exclaimed.

"I know. I didn't like to wear them to bed. Not when I could just climb in with my boxers on," I smirked.

"And you went shopping without Alice?" her eyes were round, "I'm surprised that you didn't get a scathing call from her."

Just then my cell phone rang in my pocket.

"Thank you, Bella, for cursing me," I sighed and answered the annoying ring, "Hello Alice."

"Edward!" Alice's annoyed voice came crackling over the phone, "You went shopping without me! I'm appalled."

"For pajama pants, Alice. You need not be put off. It was boring. And I already knew what I wanted. Isn't there shopping in Russia?" I laughed.

"Yes, but it's not as exciting, I don't think. It's too sunny here to go to the day fairs, which leaves me with all the stupid souvenir shops in the malls and stuff at night." Alice was pouting. I could tell.

"Do you want to talk to Bella?" I asked, knowing she would. I didn't even wait for an answer. I handed Bella the phone and the chattering began. All the way home Bella asked Alice questions about Russia and Alice asked Bella questions about college.

"So let's see these pants." Bella interjected as she hung up on Alice. We were already inside the house, halfway up the stairs. I had carefully kept the bag in my grasp, away from her.

"They're just pajama pants." I sighed, "Does it matter?"

"It matters if you bought cartoon laden pajama pants. I thought you were more grown up than that." Bella rolled her eyes.

"As a matter of fact, I am." I smirked at her, "Except for one pair, they're all solid colored pants."

"And what about these non-solid colored pants?" Bella asked skeptically.

Was she really questioning my fashion sense? I had been dressing myself for over a hundred years. Was it not fathomable that I would be able to select a few pairs of pants?

"I think they have character and they're very artistic. I'll try _those_ on for you, if you must see them." I acted as if it was an extra burden to be asked to model. Before she could say anything else, I shut myself into the closet and changed.

As heavenly as the pants had felt in the store, they were positively sinful when I slid them on. I would live in these pants, if given the chance. Maybe I should have bought more than one pair…

"Edward! Come out of there! I don't know why you went into the closet to change. I've seen you change a million times." Bella's voice called, "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No!" I called back, "I'm just looking for an appropriate shirt."

"Well, stop it. I'm dying of curiosity."

"And I'm supposed to cater to you're every whim, am I?" I chuckled as I pulled on a grey t-shirt.

"Yes." I could almost here her nodding.

"Alright, here I come." I warned. I sauntered very deliberately out and posed for a moment, before walking towards the window and posing again, in the fading afternoon light.

I tried to read the expression on Bella's face, but she remained completely neutral studying me. Finally, I stood in front of her with my hands on my hips.

"So?" I coaxed.

"You have to take them back." Her expression was serious.

"What?!? Why?" was my instant response.

"Cause those pants—" she reached out and tugged a bit at them, "are the ugliest things I've ever seen before in my life. And don't forget! I have seen some of the things in both Alice and Rosalie's closets from the eighties. Putrid stuff. These top anything they could ever show me."

I'm sure that I looked crestfallen, because immediately after her little rant, she began laughing with a gusto that made her roll onto the bed, clutching her sides.

"Edw-w-ward… oh—my gosh… you aren't—s-s-seri-ous. A-are—y-you?" She was gasping for breath. I would have been mad, but she looked so beautiful. The curse of a beautiful woman's laughing scorn.

I frowned down at her, crossing my arms.

"I'm very serious, Bella. I think these pants are—well… I think they're fantastic."

This brought around another peal of laughter from her. It was too much for me. I pounced on her, pinning her to the bed. The laughing decreased.

"What are you doing?" Bella let out a wayward giggle, "Get away from me. Those—things… they're ugly. They look like… someone has eaten some fruity cereal and then thrown up all over you. They're the brown throw up pants!"

"That's not very nice." I deepened my frown, "If you tried them on—well… they'd probably swallow you. But if you were actually the right size for them, you would understand. They're delightful."

And then my mouth crashed down on Bella's leaving her no room to argue. She relented without much of a fight.

"Ugh… do you guys not close your door?" Emmett's voice penetrated our embrace. I groaned and pushed myself up into a sitting position. Emmett's face contorted in disgust. "Whoa… Edward. What are you wearing?"

"SEE?" Bella laughed from behind me, "They're the brown throw up pants. Edward decided he needed to fit in with college students."

"You are not calling them that," I turned to her and scowled.

"It's fitting," Emmett laughed, "Seriously, though? Trying to fit in? You're Edward the Emo. What's gotten into you?"

"Apparently, a penchant for ugly pants," I sighed. But secretly, I still loved them.

**A/N- Poor Edward. Seriously… why is it that I'm having so much more success writing him? It's so weird.**

**Ok… now review… because… the brown throw up pants need some love. **


	22. Author's Note Only

Sincere apologies…

School went nuts after my last post. I've barely done any writing at all that's not for a class. I will tell you that I've got a few things in the works to play with and I'm going to post up Seamus' POV from when he first met Bella in the next week, I think. I just have to finish it up. Be patient with me.

And let me just say how excited I am to see that With Opened Eyes has 20,000 hits alone! That's amazing! You guys rock!


	23. Outtake 3: Seamus' POV

**A/N- So… Here is Seamus' POV as promised earlier. **

I heard the car pull up into my long, winding driveway. Whatever my old friend Carlisle needed, it must have been urgent. I wondered if he would bring Edward with him. Or Esme. I had not seen or heard from Carlisle in many years. Many, many years.

I was surprised to find the yellow sheet of paper, announcing his arrival.

_Seamus,_

_I am in need of your assistance. Please forgive my shortly announced arrival. Edward is very ill and you have become our last resort. He is in a coma after he tried to change his mate. I hope that you will be able to help us._

_-Carlisle_

I did not expect the beating heart that accompanied him.

I met Carlisle on the porch.

"Seamus, I am so glad to see you." I was stunned by my friend's appearance. He was usually always impeccably dressed and properly groomed. The epitome of young successful doctors everywhere.

The Carlisle that appeared before me could have passed for thirty-five and his rumpled clothing and mussed hair alarmed me.

"Carlisle…" I moved to take the steps down to meet him.

"It's Edward." Carlisle frowned. "He is—he is not well."

"So I saw in your telegram." I nodded, "But how can that be?"

"There's a girl—down in my car. Bella. She and I can explain everything that we know, between the two of us. I was just checking to see that you were here." Carlisle dashed away, into the trees.

Whoever he had brought, she was human. She had to be if her heart was still beating.

But when Carlisle and she broke through the tree line, I was entranced. She looked so—fragile. And afraid. I'm not sure why she should be so afraid. When she glanced up at me, her surprise made me even more interested.

The closer they came, the more I realized this girl—she was an abomination. The fingerprint of a vampire's venom left traces on her facial structure and in her quick, precise movements. But her heart was beating. Her cheeks were tinged in pink. Her eyes were a chocolate brown color.

She was beautiful. More beautiful than any other vampire I had met.

But she wasn't a vampire. It was impossible.

I schooled my features. This child—however old she may be—was frightened of me. For some reason unknown. And she needed reassurance that I would not be any source of harm or upset.

"Hello, Bella." My Irish lilt saturated my speech. Her cheeks flushed an inviting color and I marveled that the vampire in me did not attempt to overtake my control. Then her melodic voice filled my supersensitive hearing.

"Hello Seamus. Thank you for meeting with us." I wondered, suddenly, about my appearance. I wasn't accustomed to having company, although I did have some warning. But I imagined it would just be Carlisle and possibly Edward. Not this beautiful creature who was mounting my cabin's steps. I almost laughed at the absurdity that was my mind. What would I have done? Donned a tuxedo?

And then I realized. She was Edward's mate. Edward's wife, quite possibly. She would not be here with Carlisle if it wasn't because of him. My insides bristled. I remembered Edward. Pompous came to mind when I thought of my one week encounter with him. But for this angel, I would be courteous as possible. Ease her mind.

"Bella, do not be afraid. I'm here to help you in any way I can." I suddenly remembered Edward's fantastic pianist abilities, "Edward is a vibrant young man. I remember he had a particular talent with the piano. Such a rare gift to be had."

Her face opened like a flower at the mention of Edward. I had found her soft spot without even trying. She _was_ in love with him.

I offered her my hand for the last few steps onto the porch. She smiled painfully at me as she took it. I was struck by another peculiarity. Her touch was warm.

"It's so odd. I can tell you've been affected by a vampire's venom, but the warmth in your touch is surprising." My thoughts tumbled out of my mouth before I could catch them. Her present state was just _not_ achieved.

"Do you think you can tell us anything?" she asked, eagerly.

"I will try, Bella." I promised, leading her into my house. Her surprised doubled when she came into my front room. The cabin was a little rickety looking on the outside, but inside I had created a small castle for myself.

"I enjoy the comforts so many others do. I just hide it a little better." It was home to me, but maybe Bella had not been accustomed to the glamour that went with being a vampire. The excess in money. All I had to do was sell one of my centuries old possessions and I was quite comfortable for another two or three decades. Then I shook my head. She was with the Cullens. They may have tried to appear modest, but even rumpled, I knew the expensive cut of Carlisle's clothing.

I led them down into my basement. It may have been my lab, but seemed like a good place to begin our interview. They told me everything. How Bella and Edward had met. About their adventures to Phoenix, Arizona and a vampire named James. Then there was Edward's untimely trip to Italy to the Volterra, forcing Bella and Edward's sister Alice to chase him. Finally, I heard in detail Edward's attempt to change Bella.

It was a fantastic story to me. Unbelievable almost, except that Bella sat on a stool in front of me, confirming every story herself. And the way she told it… her facial expressions were captivating.

I shook my head internally. I needed to focus.

As a healer, it was my job to realize the chemistry of situations. So, instead of thinking of Bella as strictly beautiful or curiously complex, I tried to treat her as a patient. Though I had not practiced in many years. I tested out the traits I knew were the traits of a vampire. The tests told me what she already had. She was all but a vampire, only lacking in the sparkling skin, sensitive hearing and impeccable sense of smell. And the bloodlust. We couldn't forget that.

I was interested in Bella's blood structure. Certainly, if the vampire in me did not take over, her blood must have a quality in it that kept me from being attracted to it. I reached into a cabinet and pulled out a needle and a vial. I wanted to see what Bella's blood really looked like.

"Do you mind?" I asked. Her face turned a little pale at the sight of the needle, but she laid her arm on the table between us and turned away. I was amazed at what came out of her arm.

It had taken years but I had trained my eyesight to see abnormalities in the blood stream. Something only a vampire could do without a microscope. When I drew Bella's blood, it was a thin, almost orange color. And I saw in its purest form, strong active antibodies.

Now that I knew more of the story, it was easy to discern what might have happened. The only thing that could possibly have happened. But before I let myself get comfortable with the idea, I wanted to test my theory out.

"Your blood is thin." I stated, although it was probably obvious, "And it smells--" I lifted the vial that held her blood. There was not even a hint of the metallic tang blood usually carried. I shook my head. It was ludicrous. My senses should be making me pounce on Bella. But I was unaffected. "—all wrong. My mouth isn't watering at all."

"It's so strange," Carlisle murmured from his seat.

"We're going to figure this out. I'm sure of it." I was confident of my own abilities. I had several hundreds of years' practice. I could certainly help solve the mystery of a comatose vampire. Couldn't I?

I glanced over at Carlisle again. I had never known a vampire to look as old as Carlisle did. Not physically. No. It was much more than that. It was the way he carried himself. His movements. Nervous tendencies like running his hand through his hair and biting his lip. He had never been like this. Never in all my years of being around him. I had to make sure, for his sake too, that I could at least help them in some way.

"Carlisle, did you ever trying to mix Bella's blood with venom?" I was studying the substance that passed for Bella's blood. The antibodies that I could see seemed to get slower wherever I was touching. Probably an effect of my cold hands.

"I wasn't sure it would make a difference. And I still wasn't certain that drawing blood from Bella was such a good idea with a house full of vampires. My sense of smell has been desensitized a lot since I've been at the hospitals so much, so I didn't want to rely on it." Carlisle admitted with a shrug.

"Well, I'm going to try it. Come over here and watch." I motioned for Bella and Carlisle to follow me to a table along the basement wall.

Carefully, I poured three drops of Bella's blood into a Petri dish. I glanced over at Bella to see her staring intently at the substance. It must have been so odd to see her blood so diluted and inhuman.

I didn't let my attention linger, though.

"Alright, now for the venom." Quicker than I had ever moved before I grabbed an empty vial and inserted some of my own venom into the tube. I carefully dropped the clear, almost non existent venom into the dish and watched.

And the most incredible thing happened. Bella's blood repelled the venom. And then my eyes caught the beginnings of an attack. Bella's blood was attacking the venom. I tried not to shift away from her. But suddenly I was afraid of her capabilities a little. And she had been afraid of me?

"Immunity? Bella's blood is immune to venom?" Carlisle's voice held a shocked quality and his facial features matched.

"Not just immune," I pointed to the dish. It was evident now, even to the untrained eye. The red substance overtaking the clear.

"Seamus… this is… extraordinary." Carlisle kept his gaze trained on the table. I glanced at Bella again and realized her brain must have been spinning.

"I wasn't sure. Not until we drew her blood. She doesn't smell human, but she doesn't have that… vampire smell." I shook my head. It was difficult to explain. "Did you tell me that Bella has been bitten before Edward bit her?"

"That's right." Carlisle nodded, "By a vampire named James, but Edward sucked the venom out—all of it."

I took a moment to mull it over. My personal theory was becoming more and more accurate.

"I think—personally—that there was venom left. Not a lot. Maybe just a drop. I imagine that if Bella came out of a vampire attack alive, she must have had some severe injuries. The first thing that probably happened was a shot of morphine for any pain. Correct?"

"I administered it myself." Carlisle confirmed, nodding slightly.

"Well, like venom, morphine paralyzes. Just in a different way. The mixture of the venom, the constant shots of morphine she received and Bella's blood my have just created the greatest immunity to a vampire's venom ever. And took it a step further. The blood has been taught to attack the venom. And, for some reason, the DNA keeps most of the better vampire traits and leaves out the conspicuous ones, like our thirst and the sparkling skin."

"So what does that mean? What am I? Am I human? Am I a vampire?" Bella asked. It seemed so important that she have a label. Her face was desperate for some kind of affirmation. I really wanted to give her one. Something that would ease her mind at least about that. But I could think of nothing to say that was accurate.

"It means you are an anomaly--an enigma," I corrected myself; "There's no name for someone who has been bitten by a vampire and not been changed or died."

"But Bella, another piece of the puzzle falls into place!" Carlisle smiled. It was the first time I had seen him smile since he'd arrived.

"It's true. So if your blood is immune to venom, then…. when Edward bit you—he was consuming something that was potentially dangerous for _him._" I was working to pull Bella's mind from her own identity crisis.

"Which is why he is comatose. His scream—he must have felt it. That would have been me." Carlisle looked pained.

"What a mess I've made." Bella's murmur caught me off guard. She was blaming herself. That much was clear. But this situation shouldn't be placed on her shoulders. How were any of us supposed to know that she would endanger her mate? Her pained expression was almost more than I could take.

"It was not your fault, Bella. We didn't know this would happen." Carlisle jumped in before I could.

"But what have I done to Edward? How can we fix it?" Bella asked. I turned away from her woebegone face. Even in her anguish she was probably the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I wanted to help her. Something occurred to me at that moment.

"That is the tricky part. Bella, may I try something?" I faced her again, trying to divert her attention away from Edward, "You are still—seemingly part human. I have never tried to heal anyone of our venom's hold, but I might be able to—fix you."

"I don't want to be fixed!" She shouted, jumping into a feral defensive pose. She appeared more vampiric at that moment than any other, almost crouched to the ground. "I chose to let Edward bite me. Now I have to live with those consequences!"

"Bella," Carlisle soothed, "Think about this for a minute. What if the water that you're consuming isn't enough? We may never know what you need to survive. What if your current state begins to diminish? I don't think that we can lose both of you." His eyes were sad.

"But you just said that my body was fighting the venom by itself." She turned her rage fully upon me, growling out the syllables, "So far we just know that its effects have been limited to altering my strength, my eyesight and my appearance."

"But as Carlisle said, your body could begin to diminish under the circumstances. You should at least allow me to try. I'm not even sure if it will work." I carefully lowered myself back onto my stool, raising my hands in defense.

"I just—I don't want to be human." Her voice was more pout than growl.

"Bella, you just sounded like Edward. You are being irrational." Carlisle warned, and I almost laughed at her affronted expression, "Don't think of us, or anyone but Edward. You haven't shown any signs of sickness, but what if we find a way to bring him back to us, only to have you get sick? If we can do something…. If we can guarantee that you will be well… it'll be all the better for when Edward wakes up."

Her face bespoke her torn, tortured thoughts. I could see that she was gone to Edward. Completely. The mention of him from Carlisle made the edge of her anger soften into a piece of fluff.

"Edward would want me to?" she asked Carlisle, her voice little more than a whisper.

"I think that he wouldn't care much if we had the chance and didn't take it." Carlisle shook his head. I could see it. He had won her over.

"Alright." She sighed audibly, looking over at me. I took that as a sign and approached her again.

"Just relax, Bella. I only need to touch your forehead." She closed her eyes, obediently allowing me to use my powers. I called up the healing part of me. It was an odd feeling—always had been. It came from the area my heart should be—a warmth that spread through me. Times when I used my healing power, I felt like I had a purpose. I could almost believe as Carlisle did—that we hadn't been a mistake.

I shook my head to refocus. My gift was somewhat like a probe. I could almost feel Bella's veins, capillaries, arteries, the nervous tendons—all of it—like it was a map of her body. I went straight to her heart, still surprised at how even though I could _feel_ the traces of venom the muscle still pumped. But on a thorough examination, working from her heart to the surface skin cells and I found nothing. Nothing, but the traces of venom, latching onto her body, just like us.

"I feel no harm has come to Bella's structure." My hand fell to my side, "There's nothing to heal."

"So she's—"Carlisle raised an eyebrow.

"The venom is bonded to her DNA. She's as indestructible as we are." I supplied.

"Thank you, Seamus," Bella's voice sounded relieved. "I'm sorry that I snapped at both of you. I'm just—"

I was suddenly shocked. She had been afraid I would take away her chance at immortality. It was so clear. She equated mortality with losing Edward, somehow.

"Everyone's on edge," Carlisle gripped Bella's shoulder in a comforting gesture, "You need to rest, dear."

"Would you allow me to ponder on all of this for a while? We have learned much, and I need to sort it all out." I sighed

It was true. I needed to sort everything out. But I also needed to be away from Bella. She was so captivating. And taken. By Carlisle's son.

"Of course, Seamus. I saw an inn about ten miles back. Bella and I will go there and check in." Carlisle offered. I almost let them go. Let them give me a huge girth of space.

"Be serious, Carlisle. You will stay here. My house is yours. Bella, the couch upstairs in my living room is awaiting your arrival. Sleep all you want. And Carlisle, feel free to roam around the woods. There is plenty of nourishment in the area if you need it."

"Thank you." Carlisle nodded. He looked like he needed some time to think himself. I allowed them to walk up the stairs before I began writing down everything that I had learned.

**A/N- So here's the skinny. This is probably the last "outtake" I'll be doing from this series, unless there's something that someone REALLY wants to see. I'm working on two projects right now. **

The first is a non-Twilight vampire story. I'm probably going to post it up on livejournal pretty soon. I just need to make it a few steps further into the story before I posted it up.

I also have a new Twilight fanfiction idea, but it probably won't be worked on until winter break. Just know that my ideas won't disappoint you… as much as they'll intrigue.

So what did you think of Seamus' POV?


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